Bakkie ploughs into crowd
DRIVER LEAVES SCORES INJURED, INCLUDING YOUNG CHILDREN
Asuspected drunk driver drove a pickup truck (bakkie) into a Mardi Gras parade on Saturday in New Orleans, leaving 28 people injured, including children, officials said.
“At this time it appears that it’s a subject who was highly intoxicated, who struck a number of vehicles and then veered off hitting a whole bunch of innocent people,” New Orleans police chief Michael Harrison said.
Seven of those injured declined to go to the hospital, an official at the press conference said. The age of the victims ranged from a toddler, now in a stable condition, to people in their 30s or 40s.
According to Harrison, the driver is under investigation for drunk driving and injuring people.
The driver ploughed into the crowd just before 7pm as spectators watched the Krewe of Endymion parade, which is part of the city’s famous Mardi Gras celebrations.
New Orleans’ “Krewes” are private organisations that lead parades and throw balls during the city’s carnival season.
“It’s very hard to protect against somebody who’s very intoxicated and runs through a crowd,” Mayor Mitch Landrieu told reporters, adding that barricades had been put in place.
“People have to be responsible and they have to be thoughtful about what they do,” he said.
Earlier in the day, a man was wounded after a gun went off near the Krewe of Tucks parade, elsewhere in the city. Police believe the weapon was accidentally discharged inside a portable toilet, according to The Times-Picayune newspaper.
Police were on hand almost immediately after the occurrences, Landrieu said. – AFP