Lincolnton Hate Crime or Wait Never Mind

You likely saw this headline last week:

6 people hit by driver at Lincolnton Walmart, police say

LINCOLNTON, N.C. — Six people were taken to the hospital after being hit by a car in Lincolnton on Sunday afternoon, according to the Lincolnton Police Department.

Police say around 1:17 p.m., an assault with a vehicle happened at Walmart on North Generals Boulevard in Lincolnton.

Law enforcement says six migrant workers were hit in what they believe was an intentional vehicle assault. All of the workers were taken to the hospital with different injuries, but none appeared to be life-threatening.

Officers say the car is an older model, a mid-size black SUV with a luggage rack, and the driver was described as an older white male.

Well that was last week and the headlines were as you might expect troubling.

In fact across the nation a manhunt was launched to find the MAGA Extremist WHITE Supremist TRUMPER and Illegal migrant hating psychopath.

There was only one small problem the driver's name was Daniel Gonzalez (hint he's not a white guy) and it was an accident.

The liberal press and politicians of course had a nutty that a white guy deliberately drove his SUV into a group of migrant farm workers, injuring six of them outside a Lincolnton Walmart over the weekend. The story was covered by everyone from the New York Times to People magazine. 

What you haven't seen is a lot of coverage since because:

That initial narrative changed in just a few short hours last Monday. 

On Sunday, the day of the incident, Lincolnton police said in a statement the SUV turning into the group of men on a tree-lined median “appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle.” 

And on Monday the Carolina Migrant Network put out a statement saying, “We are outraged by the hate crime that occurred in Lincolnton... The event comes as no surprise as we have repeatedly seen these incidents at national and state level.” 

But shortly before 6 p.m. Monday, 68-year-old Hickory resident Daniel Gonzalez turned himself in to the Lincolnton Police Department, where he was charged with felony hit-and-run.

Family members told officers that Gonzalez informed them earlier Monday he accidentally stepped on the gas when parking at Walmart Sunday afternoon. When he realized he’d hit people, “he panicked and left the scene,” according to a police news release.

Now, after interviewing Gonzalez and his family members, police believe the incident was accidental. Since turning himself in Gonzalez has posted his $50,000 bond and is no longer in jail. 

You'd think liberals would learn:

Back in May 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. 

That too was thought to be a hate crime but Alvarez later explained he was just distracted.

And while unfortunate it too was an accident and not a hate crime..