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'Horrific incident': Truck ploughs into crowd during pride parade

One man is dead and another is seriously injured after a driver ploughed through a pride parade in South Florida.

The collision happened on Saturday night ( local time) during the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade, just north of Fort Lauderdale.

"One person has died and the other remains hospitalised," Broward Sheriff's Office said on Twitter.

"This tragedy took place within feet of me and my BSO team, and we are devastated having witnessed this horrific incident."

A truck drove through the crowd at The Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival in Florida, killing one person. Source: AP
A truck drove through the crowd at The Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival in Florida, killing one person. Source: AP

The driver and the victims were a part of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus family, according to a statement reported by news outlets from the group's president, Justin Knight.

"To my knowledge it was an accident. This was not an attack on the LGBTQ community," Knight said in the statement according to the Associated Press.

"We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community's love and support."

While Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Ali Adamson said authorities are investigating all possibilities, some witnesses claimed the crash seemed intentional.

According to WSVN-TV, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale said the driver in the pickup truck suddenly accelerated when he was told he was next in the parade.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., is comforted after a truck drove into a crowd of people during The Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival in Wilton Manors, Fla., Saturday, June 19, 2021.
Wilton Manors police tweeted Saturday night that the parade was cancelled due to the accident. Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP

Christina Currie told the South Florida Sun Sentinel she was with her family at the parade.

"All of a sudden there was a loud revving of a truck and a crash through a fence," Ms Currie said.

"It was definitely an intentional act right across the lanes of traffic."

Police said the driver was taken into custody, but it was unclear whether he had been charged.

June is Pride Month, commemorating the June 1969 police raid targeting gay patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York that led to an uprising of LGBTQ Americans and served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement.

with Associated Press

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