North Carolina
Driver who hit 6 farm workers says it was an accident and he fled in panic
The driver who struck six farm workers outside a North Carolina Walmart turned himself in to authorities Monday, saying it was an accident and that he fled in a panic, police said.
Daniel Gonzalez, 68, of Hickory, was arrested for felony hit-and-run and released on $50,000 bond, the Lincolnton Police Department said in a statement.
Family members accompanied him as he turned himself in early Monday evening, police said. Relatives told investigators he had said that the Sunday collisions were unintentional and that he fled in panic, the department said.
The farm workers were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, the Lincolnton department said Sunday. According to their employer, Jeff Crotts of Knob Creek Farm in Lawndale, the six are in the United States under an agricultural visa for seasonal farm workers.
The six had been taken by bus to the Lincolnton Walmart, 35 miles northwest of Charlotte, for shopping on Sunday, Crotts said.
Authorities said they initially believed the collisions may have been intentional, and they distributed security imagery of the offending SUV along with news that the culprit was possibly an older white man.
The FBI said it joined the investigation.
But the story changed radically Monday, with Lincolnton Interim Police Chief Brian R. Greene saying the driver may be Hispanic or Latino.
Gonzalez was initially described as a person of interest, but police later alleged in a statement that he’s the suspect they’ve been looking for. Detectives consulted with prosecutors on what charges should apply before recommending felony hit-and-run, police said.
The Lincolnton department thanked the FBI, the State Bureau of Investigation, and a few car dealerships for helping out as officers tired to track down a compact, dark-colored SUV used in the collisions.
Josh Cradduck and Associated Press contributed.