Driver in deadly Texas crash charged with manslaughter

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Mon May 8, 2023, 04:02 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The driver of an SUV that killed eight people when it slammed into a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas, has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday as investigators tried to determine if the crash was intentional.

Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, lost control after running a red light Sunday morning, and plowed into a crowd outside a migrant center.

Police Chief Felix Sauceda said Alvarez was charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Officials are awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether Alvarez was intoxicated, Sauceda said, adding that there was no motive that he could discuss. Asked about reports from witnesses that Alvarez was cursing at them, Sauceda said there was nothing to confirm that yet.

The SUV ran a red light, lost control, flipped on its side and struck 18 people, Sauceda said at a news conference Monday morning. Six people died on the scene and 12 people were critically injured, he said. Officials have said the death toll rose later. Alvarez tried to flee, but was held down by several people on the scene, he said. His bail was set at $3.6 million.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/brownsville-texas-crash-driver-bd38bbfeb48809aa82eaadad61e15c2a

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Article updated.

Previous articles -

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The driver of an SUV that killed eight people when it slammed into a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday as investigators tried to determine if the crash was intentional. Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, lost control after running a red light Sunday morning and plowed into a crowd of Venezuelans outside a migrant center.

Police Chief Chief Felix Sauceda said Alvarez was charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Officials are awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether Alvarez was intoxicated, Sauceda said, adding that there was no motive that he could discuss.

The SUV ran a red light, lost control, flipped on its side and struck 18 people, Sauceda said at a news conference Monday morning. Six people died on the scene and 12 people were critically injured, he said. Officials have said the death toll later rose to eight. Alvarez tried to flee, but was held down by several people on the scene, he said. His bail was set at $3.6 million.

Victims struck by the vehicle were waiting for the bus to return to downtown Brownsville after spending the night at the overnight shelter, said Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The driver of an SUV that crashed into a crowd of people at a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas, killing eight, has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday. Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, lost control after running a red light Sunday morning and plowed into a crowd of Venezuelans outside a migrant center. Authorities were still investigating whether the crash was intentional.

Police Chief Chief Felix Sauceda said Alvarez was charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Alvarez received bonds totalling $3.6 million. Officials are awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether Alvarez was intoxicated, Sauceda said.

The SUV ran a red light, lost control, flipped on its side and struck 18 people, Sauceda said at a news conference Monday morning. Six people died on the scene and 12 people were critically injured, he said. Officials have said the death toll later rose to eight.

Alvarez tried to flee, but was held down by several people on the scene, he said. Victims struck by the vehicle were waiting for the bus to return to downtown Brownsville after spending the night at the overnight shelter, said Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

Original article -

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The driver in a deadly crash that killed 8 people in Brownsville, Texas, has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday. Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, lost control after running a red light Sunday morning and plowed into a crowd of Venezuelans outside a migrant center. The police chief said Alvarez was charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Shelter director Victor Maldonado said the SUV ran up the curb, flipped and continued moving for about 200 feet (60 meters). Some people walking on the sidewalk about 30 feet (9 meters) from the main group were also hit, Maldonado said. Witnesses detained the driver as he tried to run away and held him until police arrived, he said.

Before the collision, the Range Rover ran a traffic light about 100 feet (30 meters) away, said Maldonado, who reviewed the shelter's surveillance video. Victims struck by the vehicle were waiting for the bus to return to downtown Brownsville after spending the night at the overnight shelter, said Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

Most of the victims were Venezuelan men, Maldonado said. Brownsville has seen a surge of Venezuelan migrants over the last two weeks for unclear reasons, authorities said. On Thursday, 4,000 of about 6,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody in Texas' Rio Grande Valley were Venezuelan.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. "Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, lost control after running a red light ..."

Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, lost control after running a red light Sunday morning ...

So, not intentional?

[BumRushDaShow]

2. I suppose a DUI might "help" in that case

but will have to see. It was a Sunday morning and he was apparently going somewhere "fast".

[obamanut2012]

6. Running a red light is intentional

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Disregarding a traffic signal. That's a far cry from homicide. NT

[Igel]

15. Not always.

Hence part of the problem.

[regnaD kciN]

18. Let me translate for you...

"Yes, we have evidence that he's an immigrant-hating wingnut, but we can't have two straight massacres carried out by right-wing extremists within two days here in Texas, so we'll just claim it was alcohol or 'mental illness'."

[Historic NY]

3. Inless you don't believe what he was shouting at the migrants.

[link:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/brownsville-texas-car-crash-video-latest-b2334655.html|]

[link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/07/brownsville-texas-car-crash-deaths/|]

“He crossed the street and he hit the gas and he drove by my legs, and hurt my arm,” he said in Spanish. “The others, he killed almost all of them.”

He recalled the driver yelling: “You’re invading my property!”

[iluvtennis]

4. Wow, this is just horrible. Fingers crossed these victims get justice. n/t

[LeftInTX]

11. I think the people were waiting in an area that was kinda

In the street.

The bus stop was kinda weird and there wasn't a good waiting area.

Was he targeting them because they were immigrants?
Was he targeting them because they were annoying people on the street?
Was he drunk?

[Warpy]

5. Probably not intentional but 8 people are still dead because of him

That really high bail is appropriate. Range Rovers aren't cheap, even used. New, they're $100,000+. The guy likely has money.

[obamanut2012]

7. How is running a red light not intentional???

[Warpy]

9. Fussing with cigarettes or a cell phone or cup of coffee

and late for work would do it.

Until we make cars that stop automatically for stop signs and red lights, this will happen. It usually results in honking and raised fists and middle fingers. This time, it was tragic.

That's if the tox screen is negative. It might not be.

The cops didn't think it was intentional, it's why he's charged with manslaughter instead of murder.

[RobinA]

12. I've Run Red Lights

twice in my life. I'm 65. Neither one was intentional, they were brain farts. The second one the guy in front of me made a right on red, which my brain read as that guy is moving, the light must be green. The other one I stared right at the light but didn't read it at all, just kept going. Neither time was I impaired in any way except for my brain taking a nap when it shouldn't have been.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. Raises hand. NT

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

13. It's not always intentional

Back in the 60s, my mother had a Karmann Ghia convertible. She also never went anywhere without some kind of hairpiece attached to her head. You can imagine the disaster math that results from convertible + fake hair attachment.

So there we were motoring just into the city, and her hairpiece got loose and fell in front of her face, barely attached and flopping around like a dead otter on a string. She freaked out and didn't notice--Mum--the light--Mum--MUM THE LIGHT!

She ran it while trying to get the hairpiece off her face. She hates it when I tell that story, but I love it! Even though, yes, it was rather terrifying at the time to have all those horns and screeching brakes serenading us.

I was also in the car when an uncle saw my brother playing with a Zippo in the back seat. Uncle Joe got focused on that, and forgot the light as he reached back to try to take away the lighter.

And then there was the friend who was so busy telling me about her great date the night before that she lost track of the fact that she was, you know, driving, and ran a light.

I'm lucky to be alive...

[Igel]

16. Depends how it's run.

I've missed getting in under the yellow or ran a red light because I was distracted. It's like the time I slipped going around a cloverleaf too fast and lost control, or when the driver of the car I was in lost control in the snow and wound up in a ditch. Obviously, I was intentionally going too fast (as was the driver that landed her car in the ditch)--except that "too fast" is a judgment call and not always intentional. Any more than the driver of the car that did cartwheels down the freeway decided go get a 10 in the "car gymnastics."

Then again, I've seen people stopped at a red light and rev their engines and accelerate on through light--and then through the red light 80 feet farther along.

They're different kinds of things.

[Igel]

17. As an aside, what you're saying

is he flipped his SUV and might have died, all intentionally.

Perhaps. But it's to be proven and not assumed.

[barbtries]

10. should be murder.

eight humans killed? 18 people total critically injured?

i hope they're looking at upgrading the charge. unfortunately prosecutors don't actually go for justice as much as they go for the win. manslaughter would be a gimme with this kind of carnage. but murder would be closer to the truth.

[XorXor]

19. They would have to prove that it was intentional for that

I've heard of a single witness who said the person yelled something that could point toward it being intentional. I'm not sure if that was an official statement to the police, though. If that's all there is, is that enough to prove it was intentional?