A pickup truck slammed into pedestrians gathering for the Stonewall Pride Parade on Saturday in Wilton Manors in South Florida, killing one and hospitalizing another.
The driver lined up with other vehicles preparing for the parade when, witnesses said, he slammed on the gas and struck spectators.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who was at the Stonewall Pride Parade event, along with U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch, confirmed the incident on Twitter and said the driver was in custody.
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Chris Caputo, a city commissioner in Wilton Manors, said on Twitter it was “increasingly probable it was an accident.” But Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told WSVN-TV the driver accelerated into the crowd, describing the incident as a deliberate attack on the LGBTQ community.
Joey Spears, 25, told USA TODAY he was walking up to the start of the parade when he saw the truck drive through the crowd.
“All of a sudden I see this truck peel out and just going through the people,” Spears said.
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Photos and video from the scene showed Wasserman Schultz in tears while in a convertible at the parade. A spokesperson for congresswoman did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
WPLG:
Police took the man who was driving the truck into custody and were questioning him. He was wearing a Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus t-shirt.
Justin Knight, the chorus’ president, said through a spokesman that chorus members were the ones injured and that the driver was “part of the Chorus family.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started,” Knight said in a statement. “Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver was also a part of the Chorus family. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community. We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community’s love and support.”
Witnesses heard the driver telling police it was an accident.
Let’s hope so.
The incident comes just two months after Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis signed an “anti-riot bill” granting civil immunity to people who drive into protesters who are blocking a road.