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“It terrorized me and all around me … I feared it could be intentional based on what I saw from mere feet away,” he said in a Twitter statement Sunday. Trantalis, who is Fort Lauderdale’s first openly gay mayor, initially told reporters the act was deliberate, adding to the confusion Saturday night. “I was getting phone calls from people I knew at the other end waiting for the parade saying, `Is this true? Is that true, do we have anything to worry about?’ You don’t know at that point.”įort Lauderdale Police said no arrests have been made saying they are conducting a thorough investigation with the FBI, noting in a statement they are “considering and evaluating all possibilities.” “People were really distraught and some people were crying,” said Rolli, who explained that the crash happened in an area where the floats were lining up, so there weren’t as many paradegoers.
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In the confusion, it was unclear what happened. Rolli was on the other side of the float and didn’t witness the crash, but jumped off immediately and ran to the victims.
#WILTON MANORS GAY PRIDE PARADE 2021 DRIVER#
The driver continued across all lanes of traffic, ultimately crashing into a fence on the other side of the street, police said.
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Trantalis said the driver of a pickup truck suddenly accelerated when he was told he was next in the parade, crashing into the victims. Rolli was on the float in front of the chorus truck along with Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and other city officials at a staging area where the floats were being readied. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community,” President Justin Knight said in a statement Sunday, calling it “an unfortunate accident.” “Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family. The driver and the victims were a part of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus family, a small 25-member group of mostly older men. “The early investigation now indicates it looks like it was a tragic accident, but nobody’s saying finally what it is,” Rolli told The Associated Press in a phone interview. The elderly driver had ailments that prevented him from walking, according to a statement Sunday from Fort Lauderdale Police, who said he was co-operating with the investigation and there was no evidence drugs or alcohol was involved. The 77-year-old driver was arrested, but police said no charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing. Wilton Manors Vice Mayor Paul Rolli and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said the early investigation shows it was an accident.
#WILTON MANORS GAY PRIDE PARADE 2021 FREE#
Log In Create Free AccountĪ member of a men’s chorus group unintentionally slammed into fellow chorists at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida, killing one member of the group and seriously injuring another, the group’s director said Sunday, correcting initial speculation that it was a hate crime directed at the gay community. “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.Please log in to bookmark this story. 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.” He was wearing a Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus t-shirt. Police took the man who was driving the truck into custody and were questioning him. on Wilton Drive near 16th Street, as Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa witnessed. The white pickup truck was lined up with other floats when it accelerated and ran over two men standing by to take part in the parade around 7 p.m. – One man was killed and another injured when they were run over by a pickup truck as the Stonewall Pride Parade in Wilton Manors was just getting started Saturday night.