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Authorities and organizers said the car crash at the Florida Pride motorcade that killed one protester and injured another Saturday night was apparently accidental.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department said in a statement Sunday that the 77-year-old who broke into a 2011 Dodge Ram two people at the start of the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride rally was participating in the rally, but had illnesses that prevented him from walking.
The department said the driver and two of the victims were members of a gay group in Fort Lauderdale.
“When the car began to move forward in anticipation of the start of the parade, the car accelerated unexpectedly, hitting two pedestrians,” the statement said.
After hitting a pedestrian, the driver continued to pass through all the lanes of traffic, eventually hitting a company fence on the west side of the street.
Gary Blocker, chief of the Wilton Manors Police Department, added in a statement that his department worked with FBI police and Fort Lauderdale to determine whether the accident was accidental or intentional.
“We know today that yesterday’s incident was a tragic accident, not a criminal act directed at any person, or any group of individuals,” Blocker said.
A police officer and others help a person hit by a car at the Pride Parade in Wilton Manors, Florida on June 19, 2021. @pinto_spears/AFP via Getty Images
Police said the driver “did not show signs of weakness” from alcohol and cooperated with the investigation.
The Dodge Ram was stopped in the staging area northeast of Fourth Avenue when the vehicle accelerated, according to the statement.
The second victim was seriously injured but was expected to survive and police said he remains in hospital at Broward Health Medical Center on Sunday.
The choir, on its Facebook page, said the group was “mourning together” and thanked the community for their love and understanding. The choir has about 25 members, most of whom are older men.
“We are deeply saddened by the death and tragic injuries that occurred as a result of an unfortunate accident at the start of the Stonewall Pride Parade,” the post on Facebook read.
The announcements came after some speculation that the driver intentionally hit the protesters, with Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis – who witnessed the incident – calling it a “terrorist attack” on the LGBTQ community.
The car came close to colliding with a car carrying Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“It was premeditated, it was premeditated, it targeted a specific person,” Trentalis told Local 10 on Saturday. “Fortunately they lost that person, but unfortunately, they hit two more people.”
Police investigate where a truck broke into audience at the show on June 19, 2021, Photo by Jason Corner/Getty Images
The mayor said in a tweet on Twitter on Sunday that he “felt it could be intentional” based on what he saw.
“Law enforcement took what seemed obvious to me and others in the neighborhood and achieved more — as their job is,” Trantalis said.
“As the facts continue to be pieced together, a picture emerges of an accident in which a truck veered out of control.”
Fort Lauderdale police said they are still looking into the incident.
“Although no arrests have been made, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department continues to investigate this incident and the names of the parties involved will not be released due to the status of the investigation,” the department said in its statement.
with wire
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