It’s too soon to discuss whether new safety rules will be established after a man accused of driving drunk plowed into a Mardi Gras parade crowd, a New Orleans police spokesman tells The Associated Press.
“It’s probably a little premature,” Michael “Beau” Tidwell says. “We’re working now to make sure everything was handled correctly and victims were well taken care of.”
He says he’s also trying to track down why a police report puts the number of people hit at 32. Earlier statements had the number at 28, with 21 taken to hospitals and seven declining treatment.
The accident occurred Saturday night during the Krewe of Endymion, which travels a route more than 5 miles long. Thousands of people crowd the sidewalks and medians to watch the elaborate floats and clamor to catch beads and trinkets tossed by riders.
Those in the median are facing away from the side of the street that remains open for traffic. A pickup truck hit two other vehicles on that side of the street, then wound up in the median, police say.
Driver Neilson Rizzuto, 25, is jailed, his bond set at $125,000 on charges of first-degree negligent vehicular injuring, hit-and-run driving causing serious injury and reckless driving. Police say a breath test showed a blood alcohol level nearly triple the level considered legal proof of intoxication. There were no fatalities.
Ages of the victims ranged from 1 to patients in their 50s, police have said.
