Drunken driver ploughs into parade crowd, 28 injured

At least 28 people, including a young child, were injured when a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans on Sunday.

The pickup truck, which was driven by a man who appeared to be “highly intoxicated”, was travelling along the side of the street open to traffic along the Mid-City parade route when it struck three other vehicles, including a dump truck, before veering onto the median where a crowd of people stood watching the procession, according to New Orleans police.

The crash was reported at about 6:45pm on Saturday as the city prepared for the Mardi Gras celebrations.

Officials said 21 people, including a police officer, were taken to seven hospitals. Five were in a critical condition. Seven of the injured refused to be hospitalised.

The victims range in age from as young as three or four-years-old to adults in their 30s and 40s, city emergency services director, Dr Jeff Selder said.

Police immediately apprehended the pickup driver, who according to eyewitnesses interviewed by Fox television affiliate WVEU-TV appeared dishevelled, glassy-eyed and under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu in a statement referred to the suspect as a “drunk driver.” The mayor also said that no one had suffered life-threatening injuries and thanked first responders.

Video footage from the scene showed pandemonium immediately following the early evening incident, but the Krewe of Endymion parade, the largest and most popular of numerous Mardi Gras season parades in New Orleans, continued with little or no interruption.

A total of 28 people were injured, 21 of whom were taken to local hospitals, including one police officer. Seven others who were hurt declined transport, Police Chief Michael Harrison told a news conference.

Harrison said police believed the motorist who was arrested was "highly intoxicated" and was being questioned at the police department's drunken-driving office.

Witness Greg McNeely told the Times Picayune he was watching the parade when a pick-up truck sped through the intersection and came to rest against a rubbish bin.

Several people, including a police officer, were pinned underneath the truck, he said.

“He took out rows of people,” McNeely said.