By Valerie Gonzalez | Related Press
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The driving force of an SUV that killed eight folks when it slammed right into a bus cease in Brownsville, Texas has been charged with manslaughter, police stated Monday as investigators tried to find out if the crash was intentional.
Authorities consider driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, misplaced management after working a pink mild Sunday morning and plowed right into a crowd of Venezuelans exterior a migrant heart.
Police Chief Chief Felix Sauceda stated Alvarez was charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a lethal weapon. Officers are awaiting toxicology experiences to find out whether or not Alvarez was intoxicated, Sauceda stated, including that there was no motive that he may focus on.
The SUV ran a pink mild, misplaced management, flipped on its aspect and struck 18 folks, Sauceda stated at a information convention Monday morning. Six folks died on the scene and 12 folks have been critically injured, he stated. Officers have stated the demise toll later rose to eight.
Alvarez tried to flee, however was held down by a number of folks on the scene, he stated. His bail was set at $3.6 million.
Victims struck by the automobile have been ready for the bus to return to downtown Brownsville after spending the evening on the in a single day shelter, stated Sister Norma Pimentel, govt director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
Many of the victims have been Venezuelan males, shelter director Victor Maldonado stated. Brownsville has seen a surge of Venezuelan migrants during the last two weeks for unclear causes, authorities stated. On Thursday, 4,000 of about 6,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley have been Venezuelan.
Police retrieved a blood pattern and despatched it to a Texas Division of Public Security lab to check for intoxicants.