At Least 7 Killed After Driver Plows Car Into Group of Migrants in Texas

At least seven people were killed in Brownsville, Texas, on Sunday after the driver of a vehicle plowed into a crowd of migrants outside a center that serves homeless people, an official said.

The official, Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. of Cameron County, said the group was outside the Ozanam Center, near a bus stop, when a Range Rover barreled down upon them around 8:30 a.m. local time.

The driver, who was not publicly identified, was charged with reckless driving and has been detained, Martin Sandoval, an investigator with the Brownsville Police Department, said.

The police are awaiting the results of a toxicology report, he said.

It was unclear whether the driver had lost control or had intentionally run over the group, Judge Treviño said. He said the driver had been injured and taken to a hospital.

At least 10 others had also been taken to hospitals, Mr. Sandoval said. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Judge Treviño said the scene was “very graphic” based on videos he had seen of the aftermath and a briefing he had received.

“They looked like very serious injuries,” he said. “It’s a tragedy either way, but if it was intentional, it’s worse.”

All of them were believed to be migrants from Venezuela, many of whom had been coming to the border in anticipation of the lifting of Title 42, a Trump-era pandemic rule that allowed for the easy expulsion of migrants.

Victor Maldonado, executive director of the Ozanam Center, said the driver ran a red light before crashing into the crowd of about 20 people. “All bodies just started going everywhere, all directions,” he said.

A group of people detained the driver, who tried to flee, said Eyder Hernandez, one of those who stopped him. On the journey from Venezuela to Texas, the group of migrants became family, he said.

Michael Eduardo de Aponte Fonseca, who is from Caracas, Venezuela, said the driver yelled anti-immigration insults to the group while he fled. One of the people hit by the car fell on Mr. Fonseca, he said.

“I saw what happened around me, and I didn’t want to see more,” he said. “I grabbed my things, and scared and in shock I crossed the street.”

The Ozanam Center is a shelter frequented by migrants who stay for only a few days while they work to secure travel elsewhere, Mr. Maldonado said.

He said they stay in Brownsville to “do odd jobs and get a little money so they can move on.” But, he added, “Some of those folks tonight will not reach their destination.”

Lauren McCarthy, Joshua Needelman and April Rubin contributed reporting.