Driver, 68, in custody after his SUV plowed into six migrant orchard workers in a Walmart parking lot in North Carolina – as he claims he hit the gas pedal by accident
- Six were injured in apparent ‘intentional assault’ with a vehicle in North Carolina
- Daniel Gonzalez, 68, turned himself in and claimed to have been in an accident
A 68-year-old driver has been hauled into custody after his SUV plowed into six migrant orchard workers in a Walmart parking lot in North Carolina – as he claims he hit the gas pedal by accident before fleeing the scene.
Daniel Gonzalez was taken into custody on Monday evening after turning himself in to the Lincolnton Police Department with several family members.
The family members said he told them he was parking at Walmart and hit the gas by accident and after hitting the six men, then panicked before leaving the scene.
All six victims needed to be taken to hospital after the incident, but police said none of the injuries appeared life threatening.
On Sunday evening Lincolnton Police released surveillance footage of the crash and said it appeared to be an ‘intentional assault’.
Gonzalez was charged with felony hit and run. He received a $50,000 bond and was said by police to have been cooperative.
Gonzalez was charged with felony hit and run. He received a $50,000 bond and was said by police to have been cooperative
Daniel Gonzalez, 68, is pictured being taken into custody on Monday evening after turning himself in to the Lincolnton Police Department with several family members
The black SUV (top right) was captured on surveillance footage plowing into the group of migrants by a bus that brought them from an orchard to Walmart for a weekly shopping excursion
Describing the crash, Maj. Brian Greene, interim chief of the Lincolnton Police Department said: ‘It turns right in front of the bus and appears like it’s almost going to park.
‘And then it appears to accelerate at the last minute, jumping the curb, hitting the individuals and the trees and going through the area into the other side of the parking lot and exits the same way it came,’ he added.
The incident happened at around 1.15pm on Sunday and injured six men working a 30-minute drive away at the Knob Creek Orchard in Lawndale, authorities said.
The victims were treated at a local hospital for their injuries, and all six were released late Sunday.
Police identified them as Jorge A. Lopez, Zalapa M. Hermosillo, Jose L. Calderon, Luis D. Alcantar, Rodrigo M. Gutierrez-Tapia and Santiago Baltazar.
Police said 20 to 30 orchard workers were on a weekly grocery trip at the time and were gathered around a bus which had taken them to the Walmart.
The SUV is pictured moment after hitting the migrants and before fleeing the scene on Sunday afternoon
Gonzalez (right) is pictured under arrest on Monday evening and being placed in a police vehicle
After Gonzalez’s arrest on Monday, cops thanked various departments that assisted in the investigation as well as local Kia and Hyundai dealerships.
Santiago Baltazar told WCNC through a translator that he had injuries from his waist to his feet.
Lincolnton has a population of around 12,000 people and around 30 miles northwest of Charlotte.
In a similar incident earlier this year, an SUV plowed into a crowded bus stop in a Texas border town, killing eight and injuring at least 11.
The Range Rover that struck a group of people who were at a bus stop outside the homeless center for migrants
Police arrested the suspect who was driving the car, but have yet to name him. He has been ‘uncooperative’ with investigators, cops said Sunday as the continue to investigate
George Alvarez, 34, was arrested by police afterwards in connection to the collision and was said by police to have ‘obviously intoxicated’ at the time.
Alvarez ran a red light and lost control of his Range Rover on May 7, hitting 18 people, Brownsville police said.
He then tried to flee the scene before he was detained by bystanders, police said.
The Brownsville Police Department said it still does not know if Alvarez acted intentionally.
