Dozens injured after vehicle runs into crowd of paradegoers in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS —  A vehicle crashed into a crowd of people at an intersection during a parade in New Orleans on Saturday night, injuring about 28 people, police say.

New Orleans Police Chief Michael Harrison said one person is in custody and that he is being investigated for driving while intoxicated. Harrison was asked twice by the media if terrorism was suspected. While he didn’t say “No” he did say it looks like a case of DWI.

“We suspect that that subject was highly intoxicated,” he said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. "We are grateful that none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. I want to thank all of our emergency personnel for responding quickly, aiding the injured, and apprehending the drunk driver."

The Times-Picayune reported that the vehicle plowed into a crowd at the Krewe of Endymion parade in the Mid-City section of New Orleans. 

Harrison said that 21 people were hospitalized after the crash, with five victims in guarded condition. Seven others declined to be hospitalized.

The victims range in age from as young as 3- or 4-years-old to adults in their 30s and 40s, city Emergency Services Director Jeff Elder said..

Among the injured was one New Orleans police officer. Harrison said the officer, who was on duty, was undergoing tests to determine the extent of her injuries. She was in “good spirits,” he said.

Jake Chavez said he saw two men and two women who were hit by a pickup truck that apparently turned into the crowd watching the Endymion parade. 

At least one arrest has been made, according to WWL-TV reporter David Hammer, who was watching the parade nearby. He tweeted a photo of a man being taken away by police.

Greg McNeely told The Times-Picayune that he was watching the parade when a pickup truck sped through the intersection. He said he heard three crashes then a fourth loud crash, and saw the truck had come to rest against a garbage bin. Several people, including a police officer, were pinned between the truck and the garbage bin or beneath the truck.

A young man was behind the wheel of the truck. "He took out rows of people," McNeely said.

The accident came during one of the busiest nights of Mardi Gras when thousands of people throng the streets of Mid-City to watch the elaborate floats and clamor to catch beads and trinkets tossed from riders. As police and city officials were assessing the accident scene, people were streaming home as plastic bags that used to hold trinkets and discarded beads littered the ground. The area where the accident occurred was cordoned off with police barricades.

One woman at the scene told The New Orleans Advocate that a silver truck whisked by her just feet away as she was walking through the intersection.

Carrie Kinsella said, “I felt a rush it was so fast.”

Kourtney McKinnis, 20, told the Advocate that the driver of the truck seemed almost unaware of what he had just done.

“He was just kind of out of it,” she said.

Contributing: The Associated Press