Police: Too soon to talk about new parade safety rules
NEW ORLEANS — It’s too soon to discuss whether new safety rules will be established after a man accused of driving drunk plowed into a Mardi Gras parade crowd, a New Orleans police spokesman said Monday.
“It’s probably a little premature,” Michael “Beau” Tidwell said. “We’re working now to make sure everything was handled correctly and victims were well taken care of.”
He said he’s also trying to track down why a police report puts the number of people hit at 32. Earlier statements had the number at 28, with 21 taken to hospitals and seven declining treatment.
The accident occurred Saturday night during one of the season’s glitziest parades. The Krewe of Endymion travels a route more than 5 miles long, most of it on four-lane streets divided by a wide median.