At one moment, there was swaying in the street and shouts of "Throw me something, mister!" At the next, there was wailing, moaning and injury.
A suspected drunken driver crashed a pickup truck into a crowd of spectators at the Krewe of Endymion's Mardi Gras season parade Saturday night (Feb. 25) in New Orleans. Police said 28 people were injured, five of them critically.
Here's what we know so far:
- Endymion is a "super krewe," one of the largest in New Orleans with 3,100 riders. One float alone, "Pontchartrain Beach, Then and Now," has nine sections and carries 250 riders. The parade was scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
- Several pedestrians, including a police officer and a child, were struck by the pickup or pinned by it against the dump truck.
- Police quickly arrested the pickup driver. Investigators suspected he was "highly intoxicated," Superintendent Michael Harrison said.
- The Endymion parade paused for about 10 minutes after the crash.