Parade crash suspect ‘intoxicated’
A SUSPECT is in custody after 28 people were injured yesterday when a vehicle ploughed into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade in New Orleans, police said.
Police Chief Michael Harrison said the suspect was being investigated for driving while intoxicated.
Asked if terrorism was suspected, Mr Harrison said: “We suspect that that subject was highly intoxicated.”
Twenty-one people were admitted to hospital after the crash, with five victims in guarded condition.
City Emergency Services director Jeff Elder said the victims ranged in age from three to 30s and 40s.
Among the injured was one New Orleans police officer.
Mr Harrison said the officer was having tests to determine the extent of her injuries.
The accident was on one of the busiest nights of Mardi Gras when thousands of people throng the streets to watch the elaborate floats and clamour to catch beads and trinkets tossed from riders.
The area where the accident happened was cordoned off with police barricades. One woman said a silver truck whisked by her as she was crossing the intersection.
Carrie Kinsella said: “I felt a rush it was so fast.”
Twenty-year-old Kourtney McKinnis said the driver of the truck seemed almost unaware of what he had just done.
“He was just kind of out of it,” Ms McKinnis said.