A security camera caught the moment that a black SUV drove into a pack of people who appeared to be waiting at a bus stop in Caracas, Venezuela. The driver was an ex-cop.
A former police officer has been arrested after he ran over five pedestrians and attempted to escape in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. A security camera caught the moment that a black SUV turned wildly onto a busy street and careened into a parked car, before it dramatically veered to the other side of the road and drove nose first into a pack of people who appeared to be waiting at a bus stop.In the ensuing chaos, the driver backed out pulling along fencing that got stuck in the vehicle's hood, nearly hitting additional onlookers trying to help the victims, and then sped off.Authorities chased the vehicle and arrested the driver after he crashed again. They later named the alleged perpetrator of the brutal hit-and-run as Junior Pacheco, a former detective from Venezuela's Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps (CICPC for its Spanish acronym).Douglas Rico, the director of CICPC, tweeted after the arrest that Pacheco had previously been dismissed by the agency's disciplinary council “for repeatedly failing to comply with the rules and laws that govern this security body and the Nation.”The police director also stated that Pacheco is already awaiting legal proceedings on other charges for illegal possession and concealment of firearms crimes from 2020 and 2021. Authorities did not provide additional information explaining why Pacheco was free in the first place at the time of the hit-and-run. His 2020 and 2021 arrests on firearms charges should have netted him a prison sentence of between 3-5 years, according to local media reports.His second arrest took place on March 26 of this year, exactly three months prior to the hit-and-run. Venezuela regularly ranks as having one of the most corrupt police corps in Latin America. Human Rights Watch documented nearly 5000 investigations into assassinations by Venezuela’s security forces between 2017-2019, with only one ending in a guilty verdict for homicide.After being arrested on Saturday, police discovered Pacheco with a non-CICPC gun and his official CICPC credential which he hadn't turned over when dismissed from the agency.The victims of the hit-and-run were quickly taken to hospitals and are reported to have various injuries, but remain in stable condition.Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab tweeted that Pacheco will face charges for intentional homicide, serious injuries, and failure to assist.
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