According to officials, at least seven people were murdered and numerous others were injured when a car slammed through a group of people waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant help facility in south Texas on Sunday.
For the time being, police are investigating the incident as an accident, despite a witness told AFP that the driver hurled insults at the group before accelerating.
The dark SUV “went through a red light and ran over several people” around 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) in Brownsville, a border city at the state’s southernmost edge, according to local police spokesperson Martin Sandoval.
He stated that seven persons were killed and “nearly ten” others were injured.
Witness According to Luis Herrera, whose arm was injured in the crash, the crash was “sudden.”
“A woman went by in a car and warned us to get out of the way,” he said.
“It was a matter of moments. The killer came (through) in the car, gesturing at us, insulting us,” the 36-year-old Venezuelan said.
Herrera then described the driver as accelerating the car to full force.
The motorist, whom Sandoval said was also taken to the hospital, was detained by witnesses until police arrived. He has been charged for now with reckless driving.
“More than likely there’s going to be other charges coming on later,” Sandoval earlier told a local ABC affiliate, without clarifying what the additional charges might be.
Authorities have launched an investigation into whether the fatal crash was an accident or intentional, Sandoval said.
