‘None of us are OK’
N.S. town grieves child’s death at Santa parade
YARMOUTH, N.S. • This small Nova Scotia town has come together in grief after a little girl was killed during the annual Santa Claus parade on Saturday evening.
What was supposed to be a fun holiday celebration turned to tragedy when the girl, aged four, fell underneath a moving parade float while running alongside it during the procession, police have said.
She was rushed to hospital by paramedics but was pronounced dead a short time later.
A witness described a scene of terror that shattered the port town’s holiday celebration.
Vance Webb said he noticed the float stop and heard screaming. He said the entire scene descended into “mayhem” as people realized what had happened.
“People within 50 feet of it — none of us are OK. All the adults were crying. Everywhere I saw, there were hundreds of people crying,” Webb said.
“It’s a tragedy beyond anything anyone could have imagined,” said Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood on Sunday. “Most important, I think, is the community reaching out to each other, trying to comfort each other.”
Mood said while the young girl’s family is first in her mind, she is also thinking about the first responders and the people — several of whom were children — who witnessed the accident, which happened on one of the town’s main thoroughfares.
She said a grief specialist will speak with some of the people dealing with the loss.
Condolences are pouring in on social media, with some encouraging Yarmouth residents to help support the girl’s grieving parents.
The incident hit home for Chellesey Lusk, a Yarmouth woman who lost her infant son to SIDS in January, who said she wants to use her own experience with grief to help the family.
“The community really pulled together and helped us out tremendously,” recalled Lusk, 29.
“We wanted to be able to give back to somebody else in need, so the family knows they don’t have to be alone in this.”
Lusk has been asking residents to make donations to help the girl’s parents with funeral costs.
On Sunday, Nova Scotia RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dal Hutchinson said the investigation is ongoing.
IT’S A TRAGEDY BEYOND ANYTHING ANYONE COULD HAVE IMAGINED.