Driver accused of hitting 6 migrant workers at NC Walmart says it was an accident, cops say

Six North Carolina migrant farm workers left a Walmart in Lincoln County with broken legs, broken ankles and concussions after a driver plowed his SUV through them in the parking lot around lunchtime Sunday.

The driver left without stopping, authorities said. Lincolnton police initially said they believed the driver intentionally struck the men who worked at a local orchard.

But late Monday, a different version of events surfaced, as detailed in a news release issued at 10:15 p.m.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Monday, 68-year-old Hickory resident Daniel Gonzalez arrived at the Lincolnton Police Department accompanied by several family members.

His family told authorities that Gonzalez informed them on Monday that he was in an accident. They said he told them “he was parking at Walmart and hit the gas by accident... he told them he panicked and left the scene,” according to the police news release.

Gonzalez was arrested and charged with felony hit-and-run, police said. Police recovered his SUV and notified the victims of his arrest. As of Monday night, Gonzalez is being held at the Lincoln County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Earlier Monday, the FBI had joined in assisting Lincolnton police in the case.

And the Carolina Migrant Network called the incident a hate crime. The group has not yet issued a comment on the new information about the case.

Surveillance video released by the Lincolnton Police Department Monday afternoon shows the black SUV driving through the parking lot at the Walmart at 306 North Generals Blvd. in Lincolnton before it turned in front of a parked white bus, as if to pull into a parking spot.

But the SUV didn’t slow down. Instead, it accelerated into a median lined with trees where the workers appear to be. The driver heads off after plowing between the trees and through the men and does not appear to slow down, the video showed.

The video cuts off after showing people rushing out of the bus and across the parking lot to the victims.

What we know about NC victims of SUV plowing into crowd at Walmart

The victims, according to police, were: Jose Calderon, 21, Luis Alcantar, 21, ; Zalapa Hermosillo, 27; Jorge Lopez, 33; Omar Cordova, 34; and Santiago Baltazar, 35. They were from El Salvador, Mexico and possible another country, Greene said.

The men worked at Knob Creek Orchard in Lawndale, authorities said.

All of the men were discharged from the Atrium Health-Lincoln hospital Sunday, Greene said. They had a number of injuries, including concussions and broken legs and ankles, said Candace Elmore, whose family owns the orchard.

They also are fortunate to be alive. At least one of the victims was hit by a shopping cart instead of the SUV when it drove through the group, Greene said.

“They’re all very lucky we didn’t have anything more serious,” he said.

The incident came nearly two months after a driver plowed through a group of migrants — killing eight — as they waited for a bus in Brownsville, Texas. The driver in that case, George Alvarez, 34, has been charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

More details about migrants hit by SUV

In Lincoln County, investigators did not say why they initially suspected the case “appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle.”

The Lawndale orchard hired the workers in May through the federal government’s H-2A program, which allows farmers to hire workers from other countries. The orchard sits about 20 miles west of Lincolnton and 50 miles northwest of Charlotte.

One of the victims, Lopez, told WSOC that he heard the rev of the engine and then felt the impact as the SUV hit him and five of his coworkers in the parking lot. The group has been in western Lincoln County picking blackberries.

They said they work six days a week, sometimes 11 hours per day with temperatures soaring into the 90s, WSOC reported. They have Sundays off and said they go to the Walmart to cash their checks, send money back home and buy groceries.

There were about 20 to 30 workers from the fruit farm around the Walmart at the time of the incident, Greene said, including some who were still on a bus from the orchard.

“Please be on the lookout for this (SUV),” the orchard shared in a Facebook post Sunday. “These were our workers and this was an intentional act of violence against them.”

Earlier Monday, police said that a search was underway for “an older white male” who was driving “an older model mid-size black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a luggage rack.”

Lincolnton police are asking for help in the case. Tips can be offered at 704-736-8900.

The injured workers injured may be eligible for visas or financial support, said Clermont Fraser Ripley, co-director of the North Carolina Justice Center’s Workers’ Rights Project.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services set aside certain visas for victims of crime who suffer mental or physical abuse and are helpful to investigators or prosecutors. And Crime Victim Compensation Services reimburse medical expenses and lost wages for N.C. crime victims, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Hate crimes in NC, US

The Carolina Migrant Network called for a “thorough investigation” of the case, in a late Monday afternoon news release.

“We are outraged by the hate crime that occurred in Lincolnton...” said Stefania Arteaga, co-director of Carolina Migrant Network in the release. “The event comes as no surprise as we have repeatedly seen these incidents at national and state level.”

The network says it aims to bridge the gap between legal services and advocacy efforts for migrants.

According to data the network cited from the U.S. Department of Justice, hate crimes against Latinos are at an all-time high. In 2020, 79.6% of hate crimes in North Carolina were race-motivated.

“We cannot ignore the impact of the national anti-immigrant narrative and its impact on local communities,” Arteaga said. “From the mass shooting of Latinos in El Paso, TX to the fear mongering narratives from presidential candidates, incidents like this are trickling down into violence against local communities.”

Observer editor Adam Bell contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 3:50 AM with the headline "Driver accused of hitting 6 migrant workers at NC Walmart says it was an accident, cops say."