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WILTON MANORS, FL – Two people were run over by a pickup truck as the Pride Parade in Wilton Manors had just begun at about 7 p.m. Saturday night.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the parade, said one of the victims had died.
The white van was lined up with other buoys when it hit the gas and ran over two people who were standing next to them to take part in the parade on Wilton Drive, local news 10 reporter Christian de la Rosa testified.
First responders rushed to the aid of the victims, who were taken to Broward Health Medical Center. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said the other was in critical condition. Their names have not yet been revealed.
Police detained the man who was driving the truck. It is not yet clear whether the accident was intentional. Witnesses say the detained man was telling the police that it was an accident.
The truck narrowly missed US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was participating in the open-top show.
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U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz was participating in a pride rally at Wilton Manors on Saturday night when a man in a white pickup truck collided with two people. (WPLG)
Trantalis said the truck missed Wasserman Schultz’s car “by an inch” before crashing into a gate at a landscaping company.
It is believed that it was a deliberate attempt to attack the Democrat.
“This is a terrorist attack against the LGBT community,” Trentalis told Local 10 News. “That is exactly what it is. Hardly an accident. It was intentional, it was premeditated, and it was directed against a specific person. Fortunately they lost that person, but unfortunately, they hit two other people.”
Organizers said the show has been canceled, but other festival events will continue.
“A tragic accident occurred at today’s Stonewall event. “Out of respect for all concerned, the show has been canceled and a thorough investigation is under way,” Wilton Manors Mayor Scott Newton said in a statement.
Activists have expressed concern about a number of recent anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations. Earlier this week, he captured a video of a man in a truck damaging a colorful mural on a driveway in Delray Beach.
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June is Pride Month, commemorating the Stonewall riots, which occurred in late June 1969.
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