Washington:
One man was killed and one more injured in what US authorities stated Sunday was a “tragic accident” at a Pride parade in Florida exactly where a pickup truck driver unintentionally accelerated, striking pedestrians.
The incident occurred at the get started of the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade and festival on Saturday, an LGBTQ celebration in a town close to Fort Lauderdale in the southern US state, causing initial confusion irrespective of whether the accident was element of a deliberate attack.
Fort Lauderdale Police announced Sunday that the 77-year-old driver was a participant in the festivities who had been chosen to drive the lead automobile due to “ailments preventing him from walking during the duration.”
The white pickup had begun to move forward anticipating the get started of the parade when it “accelerated unexpectedly, striking two pedestrians” prior to crashing into the fence of a nearby enterprise, the police stated in a statement.
All 3 males had been members of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus, the police stated, adding that the driver was cooperative with authorities.
The two adult males had been transported to a healthcare centre exactly where one later died, according to the statement. The other remains hospitalised but is anticipated to survive.
“Today we know yesterday’s incident was a tragic accident, and not a criminal act directed at anyone, or any group of individuals,” the Walton Manors Police Department stated in a separate statement.
Justin Knight, president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus, referred to as the incident an “unfortunate accident.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the unfortunate accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started,” he stated in a statement Saturday.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the parade, initially told a regional broadcaster he believed the crash was “deliberate.”
In the quick aftermath, he referred to as it “a terrorist attack against the LGBT community” and claimed the truck had targeted the auto of a Democratic congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz — who was in a convertible waiting to take element in the procession — but narrowly missed her.
Trantalis explained on Sunday that he had initially “feared it could be intentional based on what I saw from mere feet away.”
“As the facts continue to be pieced together, a picture is emerging of an accident,” he stated.
Wasserman Schultz stated on Twitter that she was “heartbroken” by what had taken spot.
“I am deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost,” she stated.
“My staff, volunteers and I are thankfully safe,” she added.
The Wilton Manors Police Department tweeted Saturday evening right after the crash that the public was not in danger.
June is Pride Month, which commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots sparked by repeated police raids on a preferred gay bar in New York. The demonstrations proved to be a turning point in the LGBTQ community’s struggle for civil rights.
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