The Fort Lauderdale Pride parade crash that killed one person was a “tragic accident,” officials say

A driver who plowed into a Pride parade near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, killing one person and critically injuring another, accidentally crashed into the crowd, officials said Sunday.

The incident occurred during the Stonewall Pride Parade in Wilton Manors, a neighborhood about 10 miles north of Fort Lauderdale. Witnesses said a driver of a white pickup truck got in line with other vehicles participating in the parade and then suddenly accelerated, hitting spectators.

Fort Lauderdale police said in a statement Sunday that the driver was a 77-year-old member of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus who was “suffering from ailments that made it impossible for him to drive during the duration of the parade.” to go,” and that he was selected to drive the lead vehicle.

“As the vehicle began to move forward in anticipation of the parade beginning, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and crashed into two pedestrians,” the statement said. “After striking the pedestrians, the driver continued to drive across all lanes of traffic and ultimately crashed into the fence of a business on the west side of the street.”

The two people hit were also members of the Gay Men’s Chorus. Both victims were taken to the hospital, where one was pronounced dead and the other remained in critical but stable condition.

The driver was given a DUI test at the scene, which he passed. Police said there have been no arrests but are not releasing the names of the driver or victims due to the ongoing investigation.

Wilton Manors deputy mayor Paul Rolli said on Sunday: “The initial investigation now suggests this was a tragic accident, but no one is conclusively saying what it is.”

Justin Knight, president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus, told The Daily Beast in a statement that, contrary to initial claims, the incident may have been intentional: “This was not an attack on the LGBTQ community.”

“Our choir colleagues were the injured and the driver was also part of the Chorus family,” he said.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who attended the event, previously called the incident a “terrorist attack against the LGBT community.” He described to WPLG Local 10 News how it all unfolded.

“What we witnessed was as we started setting up for the parade, I was walking with Congressman Ted Deutch and the parade had just started, and we saw people lining up ready to march, and all of a sudden this white pickup truck was speeding going “Right through the crowd, narrowly missed Congresswoman (Debbie) Wasserman-Schultz’s car, just by inches, and just … crashed through a gate, crashed into a landscaping business and hit two people,” Trantalis said.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) was seen in footage from the scene crying while sitting in a convertible taking part in the parade.

In a statement, Rep. Schultz said she was “deeply shocked and devastated that a life was lost and others were seriously injured at the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade this evening.”

“We are praying for the victims and their families as law enforcement investigates, and I am providing all the assistance I can. “I am so heartbroken about what happened at this ceremony,” she wrote.

Wilton Manors police confirmed this Twitter that the parade was canceled while other events would continue. Wilton Manors Mayor Scott Newton said in a statement that the investigation is ongoing.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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