Drunk driver plows into Mardi Gras parade crowd

Mardi Gras is supposed to be a festive occasion during which people are allowed to temporarily shuck the restraints of their ordinary lives until the beginning of Lent brings the celebration to a close. A young man apparently stepped too far away from these restraints during the Endymion parade in New Orleans by driving drunk and smashing his truck into a crowd of parade watchers.

According to spectators, the young man was driving a gray pick-up truck south on Carrollton Avenue. As he approached the intersection with Orleans Avenue and the parade route, he appeared to accelerate. His truck hit two parked cars before it veered across the southbound lane of Carrolton and into the crowd gathered on the neutral ground. The truck stopped when it hit a large dump truck parked on the neutral ground.

According to police, 28 persons were injured, but no one was killed. Five of the injured persons were taken to a local trauma center and were in “guarded condition.” The youngest victim was a 3- or 4-year-old; the oldest victims were in their 30s and 40s. The driver of the pickup truck was taken into custody by police. Investigators believe that the young man was intoxicated. One witness said the driver looked “blasted.”

Anyone who has been injured or who has lost a loved one in an accident caused by a drunk driver may wish to consult a lawyer who handles automobile and truck accident cases. Such a consultation could provide a helpful analysis of the facts and the law that apply to the case and an estimate of the likelihood of recovering damages for medical expenses, lost wage and pain and suffering.

Source: New Orleans Advocate, “‘Horrific’ Endymion crash: 28 hurt; injuries not life-threatening; driver apparently drunk, officials say,” Matt Sledge, Feb. 25, 2017