A Texas jury on Friday found a driver guilty of intoxication manslaughter over the deaths of eight people who were hit by an SUV that plowed into a crowded bus stop outside a migrant shelter on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The verdict was handed down by a Cameron County jury more than a year after authorities say George Alvarez lost control of the vehicle after running a red light. The deadly scene happened in Brownsville, which has long been an epicenter for migration.
Alvarez was found guilty of eight counts of intoxication manslaughter at the end of a weeklong trial, said Edward Sandoval, a Cameron County prosecutor.
The sentencing phase of the trial was scheduled to begin later Friday. He faces up to 160 years in prison.
A shelter operator said victims struck by the vehicle had been waiting for the bus to return to downtown Brownsville after spending the night at the overnight shelter. Authorities said Alvarez tried to flee after hitting 18 individuals but was held down by several people who witnessed the scene.
Prosecutors said there was sufficient evidence pointing to Alvarez being intoxicated, the Brownsville Herald reported. Alvarez admitted to using cocaine but said he last used it several days before the crash, according to the newspaper.
Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda said at the time of the crash that he SUV ran a red light, lost control, flipped on its side and hit 18 people. Six people died at the scene and 12 people were critically injured. The victims were all male and several of them were from Venezuela. The center's manager told CBS News that the shelter receives between 80 and 120 migrants per day.
One of the victims, Angel Carvacas, was waiting at the bus stop because he was on his way to reunite with his mother, his cousin Silbio told CBS News. Silbio witnessed the accident and said he saw Carvacas "on the ground."
"It was as if the world fell apart," Sibio said.
Carvacas and his mother were headed to New York to start their new lives in the U.S., according to Silbio.
"He looked out a lot for his family," Silbio said. "He worried a lot for his family."
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