(Reuters)—At least eight pedestrians were killed and several others injured on Sunday when an SUV mowed down people near a homeless shelter that attends to migrants in Brownsville, Texas, police said.
The male driver was in custody, Lieutenant Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department said, adding he was charged with reckless driving and could face additional charges.
Sandoval said the driver, a Hispanic man, is being "uncooperative" with authorities. Police have resorted to fingerprinting the man in an effort to determine his identity. Police are also awaiting the results of a blood and toxicology test on the driver, Sandoval said.
Sandoval said the victims in the morning crash were waiting at a bus stop near Ozanam Center, a shelter for the homeless used by migrants. He said some migrants were among the dead.
"We are doing an investigation in forms of intoxication to see if he was intoxicated at the time of the accident," said Sandoval on Fox News.
It was not clear if the driver had crashed into the group intentionally or lost control of the vehicle, Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. of Cameron County was quoted as telling the New York Times.
There were no immediate details on how many people were injured or their condition.
The city of Brownsville, on the border with Mexico, is one of the places expecting an influx of migrants when COVID-era restrictions under Title 42 expire on Thursday.
A video circulating online purporting to show the crash shows a speeding SUV plowing into a row of people sitting on the curb. A second video of the aftermath appears to show victims lying on the ground, some bloodied and writhing, while others lay motionless.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the videos.
(Reporting by John Kruzel in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sandra Maler)