DWI suspected in crash into crowd at Mardi Gras parade

NEWORLEANS— Authorities on Sunday identified a man who allegedly was intoxicated and plowed into a crowd enjoying a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.

The New Orleans Police Department issued a statement identifying the man as 25-year-old Neilson Rizzuto. Online jail records showed Rizzuto was arrested on a number of charges and was being held at the city’s jail.

The accident came Saturday during one of the busiest nights of Mardi Gras when thousands of people throng the streets of Mid-City to watch the elaborate floats.

Twenty-one people were hospitalized with five victims taken to the trauma center in guarded condition. However, their conditions did not seem to be life-threatening, the city emergency services director said.