At Least Seven Migrants Killed in Texas Bus Stop Crash
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least seven people were killed and several others injured Sunday in south Texas when a car plowed through a group waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant aid center, police said.
Victims were left dead after a crash at a bus stop, which involved a vehicle that had left the roadway in Del Rio, Texas, according to Victor Maldonado, the executive director of the Ozanam Center, a homeless shelter across the street from the crash.
Law enforcement said they were treating the incident as an accident for now, though a witness told AFP the driver had yelled insults at the group before accelerating.
The group, all Venezuelan and around 25 people in total, had just eaten breakfast at the shelter when the accident happened, Maldonado reported. Body parts were seen along the street, according to Maldonado, who said witnesses were "really shocked." The identities of the victims are being investigated, with officials unable to confirm if they were all migrants.
The Ozanam Center caters to a range of people, with Maldonado stating that "we've been housing individuals coming from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, China, Ukraine - and multiple Venezuelans." Investigations are being carried out with border police, who are yet to determine the cause of the crash.
The tragic news comes as authorities prepare for the lifting of a federal policy that enables border patrol officers to deport or turn away migrants without accepting their asylum applications. The policy, known as Title 42, is set to expire on Thursday. Officials fear that the lifting of the rule could result in an influx of undocumented migrants entering the United States.
The tragedy follows a mass shooting at a Texas shopping mall the day before, in which at least eight people were killed.