2nd person in days killed by Mardi Gras float
— A man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float during a raucous Saturday night street parade in New Orleans, becoming the second person in days killed along a parade route during this year’s Carnival season, authorities said.
The man was killed just before 7 p.m. as the popular Krewe of Endymion was rolling, New Orleans police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The remainder of Endymion’s parade was scrapped Saturday. Police said 13 floats had already gone ahead when the accident occurred.
New Orleans police said first responders swiftly converged on the site, tweeting out calls for crowds to avoid the area. The fatality came as New Orleans was still mourning the death of Geraldine Carmouche 58, of New Orleans, who — witnesses said — was run over by a parade float Wednesday.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the city was grieving.
“To be confronted with such tragedy a second time at the height of our Carnival celebrations seems an unimaginable burden to bear. The City and the people of New Orleans will come together, we will grieve together, and we will persevere together,” Cantrell said in a statement. “Our hearts break for those lost and for their loved ones, and our prayers and deepest sympathies are with them.”
On Sunday, Cantrell re-emphasized the need for safety precautions and said the issue will be examined in the coming days.
“In the weeks and months ahead, we will be looking at further changes that need to be made to make our routes and our celebrations more safe — but the work starts right now,” she said.
Wednesday’s fatality had occurred during the parade of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx, an all-female Carnival group. Witnesses said Carmouche, had apparently tried to cross between two parts of a tandem float and tripped over a hitch connecting the sections.
The Carnival season is nearing its traditional all-out Fat Tuesday celebration, the raucous climax of a week or more of parades, merrymaking and partying.