Texas car crash driver ‘yelled anti-migrant insults’, says witness

Seven dead and 12 wounded in car accident outside migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas

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A witness to the car crash that killed eight people outside a migrant shelter in Texas[1] says the driver made anti-immigrant remarks before he was detained by members of the public. Suspect George Alvarez, 34, has been charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after Sunday morning's incident.

Police say they are still investigating whether the crash was intentional as well as the driver's alleged remarks. Earlier police revealed that Mr Alvarez has a lengthy criminal history, including multiple assault charges. And shocking security camera footage shared by Texas congressman Henry Cuellar showed the moment a grey Ranger Rover, travelling along North Minnesota Avenue towards Boca Chica Boulevard, smashed into the crowd outside of the city's Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center.

The Venezuelan government has called for an investigation to determine if the crash was deliberate and motivated by hate or xenophobia[2], after it emerged that several of the victims were from Venezuela[3].

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'I had time to think, do I jump forward or backward?'

Another Ozanam resident has described how he faced lethal danger on his trek from Venezuela to Texas, only to be nearly killed by Sunday's crash. Yohonny Miratriz told The New York Times that he was right in the path of the SUV when it flipped on its side and skidded towards a group of migrants waiting outside the shelter. "I had time to think, do I jump forward or backward?" said Mr Miratriz[5]. "Which way would give me a better chance at survival?" He went forward, and the truck clipped his leg.

"At first it didn't hurt. I was in shock, but then the pain came rushing. How did I survive?

I think only God knows," he said, adding that one of his friends died in the crash. It was a grim welcome for someone who already felt lucky to have survived the difficult foot journey from Venezuela. Mr Miratriz said that while climbing over sharp rocks in the mountainous Darien Gap that links South America to Central America, he watched a woman slip and fall to her death.

"I just kept walking, because I knew that if I hesitated, I could fall to my death too," he told the Times. Io Dodds9 May 2023 07:31

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It's a terrible, tragic event, says judge

Cameron county judge Eddie Trevino Jr said on Monday that does not know whether Sunday's crash was a hate crime, as he mourned the "loss of souls". "I think the community as a whole is in mourning for the loss of the souls," Judge Trevino said at the Brownsville Police station on Monday, where the suspect, George Alvarez, was being held.

"It's a terrible, tragic event. And regardless, whether it was intentional or accidental, it doesn't matter. Those now eight individuals that lost their lives and the other 10 that are hospitalised, we're praying for them and for their families."

There's still no confirmation whether the driver struck the group of people intentionally as a hate crime, as police continue to investigate the motive. "I hope it wasn't [deliberate]," Judge Trevino said. "The indications are this was just a terrible, tragic accident." Namita Singh9 May 2023 07:29

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'I don't feel welcome': Migrants on edge after crash

A day after an SUV ploughed into a crowd of people waiting for a bus outside a migrant shelter in the border city of Brownsville, Texas, refugees and asylum seekers have come forward to raise concerns about their safety.

Junior, a bartender from Venezuela says he travelled for months to reach Brownsville. Looking for a construction job in the city, he said he was waiting at the bus stop when he saw a car bareling towards him. He moved five feet to the side, crouching on the ground as he covered his head with his hands.

While he escaped unhurt, another Venezuelan man he knew died.

A cross setup at a memorial at a vigil for 8 migrants that were run over and killed yesterday waiting at a bus stop on 8 May 2023 in Brownsville, Texas (Getty Images) "Thank God I am alive.

But it was awful. He died right in front of me," he told local news website Border Report. "No one here has money, so we were all waiting for the city bus." Only wanting to be identified by his first name, he told the outlet he is "afraid to walk on the street now".

"I don't feel welcome. And I tried so hard to get to this country," he said. Junior said the driver had been yelling at the group of migrants, and he feels the crash was a targeted attack.

Namita Singh9 May 2023 07:26

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Two migrants who came from Venezuela in pursuit of American Dream 'critical'

Three out of 10 survivors of the car crash were able to go home on Monday, while seven more are still being treated at a local hospital. Of them, two are the brother and cousin of Jose Luis Ruiz, who travelled together from Venezuela to pursue the American Dream. He told CBS affiliate KHOU that he does not have much information about their recovery but knows that his brother suffered a severe head injury and both remain in critical condition.

Namita Singh9 May 2023 07:03

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'No one feels safe anymore', says migrant

Migrants do not "feel safe anymore" in Brownsville said an asylum seeker, after the car crash incident on Sunday in which an SUV ploughed through 18 people standing at a bus stop near the overnight shelter. "I don't feel safe anymore. No one there feels safe anymore.

Everyone there wants to leave," said Jesus Moreno, a migrant in Brownsville told ABC affiliate KSAT-12. Also a witness to the crash, he told the outlet that he knew one of the victims."It's a moment where you enter shock," Mr Moreno said. "The mentality of that 18-year-old that died there was different.

He wanted to work. He wanted to buy his mom a house." "It's dangerous," he said of migrants. "The people are scared now.

The people don't confide in anyone." Namita Singh9 May 2023 06:49

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ICYMI: Surge in arrivals from Venezuela prompted Brownsville to declare state of emergency

Brownsville has seen a surge in the number of Venezuelan migrants arriving over the last two weeks for unclear reasons, local authorities said in light of yesterday's incident. On Thursday, 4,000 of about 6,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody in Texas' Rio Grande Valley were Venezuelan.

The surge prompted Brownsville commissioners to indefinitely extend a declaration of emergency during a special meeting held last week, as local, state and federal resources coordinated enforcement and humanitarian response. "We don't want them wandering around outside," Pedro Cardenas, a city commissioner, said in the wake of Sunday's deadly crash. "So, we're trying to make sure they're as comfortable as they can be so they don't have to go out and look for anywhere else." Brownsville has long been an epicentre for migration across the US-Mexico border and it has become a key location of interest for next week's end to pandemic-era border restrictions known as Title 42.

The Ozanam shelter is the only overnight shelter in the city and manages the release of thousands of migrants from federal custody. Graig Graziosi9 May 2023 06:09

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'Victim was headed to New York to start new life'

Angel Carvacas, one of the victims killed in the Brownsville car crash, was on his way to reunite with his mother when the SUV ploughed through him. "I saw him on the ground, it was as if the world fell apart," his cousin, Silbio, told CBS News.

The two of them were headed to New York to start their new lives in the country, he told the outlet. "He looked out a lot for his family," Silbio said. "He worried a lot for his family." Namita Singh9 May 2023 06:06

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'How did I survive?

I think only god knows'

Yohonny Miratriz was walking with his friend near the shelter, when he saw the SUV skidding towards him."I had time to think, do I jump forward or backward?" he told the New York Times. "Which way would give me a better chance at survival?" Mr Miratriz, who made it through the rough terrain while on his way from Venezuela to Texas border, says he decided to dive head first before the truck hit his left leg.

A votive candle sits next to a spray-painted evidence marker at the site of the deadly crash where eight migrants were run over and killed yesterday waiting at a bus stop on 8 May 2023 in Brownsville, Texas

(Getty Images) "At first it didn't hurt. I was in shock, but then the pain came rushing," he told the outlet. "How did I survive?

I think only God knows."Mr Miratriz shared that he lost his friend Luis Matute to the crash, while another friend Johan Quiroz was severely injured. Namita Singh9 May 2023 05:53

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'Driver yelled anti-immigration insults', claims witness

Michael Eduardo de Aponte Fonseca, an eyewitness, has claimed that crash driver George Alvarez yelled anti-immigration insults at the group. "I saw what happened around me, and I didn't want to see more," he told the New York Times.

"I grabbed my things, and scared and in shock I crossed the street."Most of the victims stay in Brownsville to "do odd jobs and get a little money so they can move on," Mr Fonseca said. But, "some of those folks tonight will not reach their destination." Meanwhile, police were also looking into reports that he had uttered anti-immigration remarks.

Namita Singh9 May 2023 05:35

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Criminal history of George Alvarez

George Alvarez has a lengthy criminal history, police said during a press conference on Monday. His past charges include numerous assault charges, an aggravated assault charge, and additional charges for burglary, theft, DUI, and resisting arrest. He is currently being held on a £3.6m bond, according to CNN[15].

Mr Alvarez allegedly attempted to flee the scene of the incident after he struck the victims and rolled his jeep. Bystanders reportedly stopped Mr Alvarez and kept him detained until police arrived. He was then taken into police custody and then to an area hospital to be treated for injuries he sustained in the wreck.

Police said Mr Alvarez was being "very uncooperative" with them during their initial investigation.

Namita Singh9 May 2023 05:32

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References

1. ^ Texas (www.independent.co.uk)
2. ^ xenophobia (www.independent.co.uk)
3. ^ Venezuela (www.independent.co.uk)
4. ^ 1683613917 (www.independent.co.uk)
5. ^ said Mr Miratriz (www.nytimes.com)
6. ^ 1683613743 (www.independent.co.uk)
7. ^ 1683613586 (www.independent.co.uk)
8. ^ 1683612226 (www.independent.co.uk)
9. ^ 1683611374 (www.independent.co.uk)
10. ^ 1683608941 (www.independent.co.uk)
11. ^ 1683608783 (www.independent.co.uk)
12. ^ 1683608011 (www.independent.co.uk)
13. ^ 1683606916 (www.independent.co.uk)
14. ^ 1683606754 (www.independent.co.uk)
15. ^ CNN (www.cnn.com)