BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The man accused of crashing into a group of people in Brownsville stood before a judge for the first time on Monday.
George Alvarez, 34, is facing a slew of manslaughter and aggravated assault charges. He's accused of crashing his SUV into at least 18 people who were waiting at a bus stop on Sunday. Prosecutors said he ran a red light and then lost control of his vehicle. A judge set his bond at $3.6 million.
"The SUV ran a red light, lost control and flipped on its side and struck a total of 18 individuals," Police Chief Felix Sauceda said.
Eight people died in the crash. Three survivors were able to go home on Monday to recover while seven more were still being treated at an area hospital. Investigators said all of the victims appear to be men and most of them appear to be from Venezuela.
Jose Luis Ruiz said his brother and cousin were both injured in the crash and were being treated at an area hospital. He said he doesn't have much information about his brother, but he knows he suffered a severe head injury. He said both his brother and cousin were in critical condition.
Ruiz said he's hoping to get an update on their conditions soon. He said they're from Venezuela and traveled across many countries in search of the American Dream.
Investigators said they're still waiting on a toxicology report on Alvarez. They also said they were not sure if the crash was accidental or intentional.
According to authorities, Alvarez has a lengthy criminal history and is a Brownsville native. They said he tried to run from the scene but witnesses were able to hold him down as they waited for police to show up.
Brownsville has seen a surge of Venezuelan migrants over the last two weeks for unclear reasons, according to local authorities. On Thursday, 4,000 of about 6,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley were Venezuelan. The surge in the number of migrants this week has prompted Brownsville commissioners to indefinitely extend a declaration of emergency.