Texas: Several Migrants Dead in Car Crash Near Homeless Shelter

In a shocking incident on Sunday morning, a vehicle plowed through a crowd near a migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas, leaving seven people dead and several others injured, authorities said.

The tragedy unfolded near the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center around 8:30 a.m., which serves as a refuge for Texas migrants and the homeless, according to the Independent.

Lt. Martin Sandoval, a police spokesman, confirmed that 10 individuals were rushed to nearby hospitals while seven were pronounced dead on the spot. He said investigators are still probing whether it was deliberately done.

The driver, who has been arrested, remains unidentified. He was charged with reckless driving. However, Sandoval said additional charges would likely be pressed against the accused.

Texas Car Crash Caught on Surveillance Footage

As authorities continue investigating the horrific incident near the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center in Brownsville, Texas, new details have emerged about the victims and the moments leading up to the tragedy.

According to Victor Maldonado, director of the shelter, around 20 to 25 migrants, who had recently arrived from Venezuela and were seeking refuge, were waiting for a bus across the street from the shelter when the incident occurred.

During an interview with CNN, Maldonado said surveillance footage captured a car speeding recklessly and crashing just 30 feet from where the migrants were sitting.

The crash resulted in a gruesome scene, with body parts scattered around the area. Maldonado rushed outside with a shelter employee to investigate and assess the situation.

Maldonado claimed the police had already taken his copy of the security footage. Sandoval noted that the motorist, a Hispanic man, refused to cooperate with authorities.

Police had already taken his fingerprints to determine his identity after he gave multiple names, which takes more time, according to Sandoval.

Sandoval noted that a toxicological test would also be performed on the driver, adding that it was unknown how long it would take for authorities to get those results.

He noted that the Border Patrol was assisting the police in Brownsville in their investigation.

The Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center in Texas

Sandoval said the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center had been used to house immigrants temporarily, KRDO reported.

Brownsville lies in extreme southern Texas, across the Rio Grande River, near the border with Mexico. According to the census of 2022, approximately 95% of the city's residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Brownsville has declared a state of emergency due to the surge of thousands of migrants, many of whom are from Venezuela, in the past few weeks.

Title 42, a Trump-era immigration restriction law that allowed immigration agents to return migrants to their home countries promptly, is set to end just days after the crash happened.

After the restrictions are lifted on May 11, officials have predicted a rise in immigration in the coming weeks.

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Written by: Bert Hoover

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