Driver of SUV that hit and injured 6 migrant workers outside a North Carolina Walmart has turned himself in, police say

By Jamiel Lynch, Chenelle Woody and Amy Simonson, CNN

(CNN) — A 68-year-old man turned himself in Monday after six migrant workers were hit and injured by an SUV outside a North Carolina Walmart Sunday afternoon, police said.

The driver told investigators and his family that he “accidentally hit the gas when he was pulling into a parking space, panicked and left the scene,” Lincolnton police Major Brian Greene told CNN. The man was charged with felony hit and run, according to Greene.

The incident happened after 1 p.m. Sunday outside the store in the city of Lincolnton, about 38 miles northwest of Charlotte, according to the Lincolnton Police Department.

Surveillance video released by police Monday shows a mid-size black SUV driving in front of a bus, over a tree-lined median and disappearing beyond the trees. After the vehicle crosses over the median, people can be seen running toward the scene, where police said the migrant workers had been standing.

Six people were taken to a local hospital with various injuries and later released, police said. “Their injuries range from a couple of broken bones and a broken ankle to some shoulder injuries, sprains and an abrasion on the scalp, but nothing life-threatening,” Greene said.

While Lincolnton police on Sunday initially described the incident as an apparent “intentional assault,” Greene told CNN Monday that police now do not believe the man intended to hit the migrant workers.

“After speaking with detectives and the suspect’s family, we do not believe he intended to do it,” Greene said.

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