A driver reportedly crashed head on into a crowd watching one of the main Mardis Gras parades Saturday night, injuring more than two dozen people.
Orleans Parish Police have identified the driver as 25-year-old Neilson Rizzuto, a graduate of Ponchatoula High School and bouncer at a daiquiri shop, The Times-Picayune reports. Rizzuto drove a gray pickup truck into a crowd at the Krewe of Endymion parade, causing a total of 28 injuries.
Police Chief Michael Harrison said the suspect is being investigated for driving while intoxicated. Harrison reportedly said it does look like a DWI case, but did not confirm if the driver was intoxicated, The New York Post reports. “We suspect that that subject was highly intoxicated,” Harrison told reporters.
Some 21 people were taken to the hospital, including a police officer and a child, with 5 patients in “critical condition.” In all, the victims range in age from 3 to 40-years-old. Following the accident, New Orleans city Mayor Mitch Landrieu tweeted: “We are grateful that no one suffered any life threatening injuries.”
The accident came during one of the most highly traffic nights of Mardis Gras. Thousands of people flood the streets to view the parades, catch beads, and celebrate their respective vices before the Lenten fast begins on Ash Wednesday. The parade reportedly stopped for ten minutes following the crash, as spectators watched in horror as authorities rushed to the scene.
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