28 Injured, 12 Critically, After Car Plows Into New Orleans Parade Crowd

MEP: A vehicle has driven into a crowd at a Mardi Gras parade in the US city of New Orleans, leaving 28 people injured with 12 seriously.

The incident took place on Saturday at 18:45 after a drunk driver crashed his vehicle into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade in the Mid-City section of New Orleans.

The truck, traveling along the side of the street open to traffic along the Mid-City parade route, struck three other vehicles, including a dump truck, before veering onto the median where a crowd of people stood watching the procession, according to New Orleans police.

Among the injured, the youngest is 3 and the oldest are in their 40s.

There is no indication the incident was a planned attack, authorities said.

“At this time it appears that it’s a subject who was overly intoxicated, who struck a number of vehicles, and it veered off, hitting a whole bunch of innocent people”, Michael S. Harrison, superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, told a press conference, dismissing the idea that the collision might have been intentional.

The Endymion parade is one of the biggest parades in Louisiana and one of the most family-oriented ones. Many parents had brought their children to the event this year.