Wisconsin: Five killed in a car crash at Waukesha Christmas parade
At least five people were killed and more than 40 injured in a car crash at a Christmas parade in the US state of Wisconsin, police said. The school orchestra and grandma’s dance troupe were marching through the town of Waukesha when a red SUV drove up the road.
It affected dozens of people, including children. One person is in detention. The incident appears “at this time,” not an act of terrorism, an official said. The suspect appeared to have fled another scene when he ran into people at the march. A police officer familiar with the preliminary results of the investigation told US partner CBS News.
Resident Angelito Tenorio told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he had just finished the parade when the SUV “kicked the metal pedal and approached the parade route at full speed” at around 4:40 p.m. (10:40 p.m.). . GMT) on Sunday. “Then we heard a loud bang and just deafening screams and screams from people being hit by vehicles,” he said.
Corey Monticho said a jeep hit his daughter’s dance team.
“There were pompoms and shoes everywhere, and hot chocolate spilled. I had to go from one shattered body to another to find my daughter,” she told the paper.
The parade in Waukesha – a community of about 72,000 west of Milwaukee – traditionally takes place on the Sunday before Thanksgiving each year and includes fancy dresses, floats, dancers, and a marching band.
Families lined the roadside to watch the event, which is being held again after a year of absence due to the coronavirus pandemic. One video shared on social media showed a car hitting a roadblock at high speed, while another showed the vehicle hitting a group of musicians.
During the incident, police officers ran into the streets, asking people to seek shelter in shops. Police Chief Dan Thompson told reporters that officers shot at the car to stop it. Jason Kellner told the New York Times that he had just seen his son walking with his school orchestra when the car approached the crowd and “started cutting the grass.”
“I’ve never felt worse; I wonder what I will find when I get to see my child,” she said. Kellner found his son unharmed on the road but saw some cuts and pulled the bloody saxophone from the road.
Another witness told Fox6 in Milwaukee that there was silence followed by screaming, running, and screening of injured after the vehicle hit a group of dancing girls between nine and 15.