Spectator Christina Currie told the South Florida SunSentinel that she was with her family at the start of the parade. "May the memory of the life lost be for a blessing." "I am so heartbroken by what took place at this celebration," she said. In a statement Saturday night, Wasserman Schultz said she was safe but "deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost." Debbie Wasserman Schultz in tears while in a convertible at the parade. Photos and video from the scene showed Democratic U.S.
Police said the driver was taken into custody, but it was unclear whether he had been charged. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Trantalis said he believed the crash was "deliberate." "We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community's love and support."įort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said a driver of a pickup truck suddenly accelerated when he was told he was next in the parade, crashing into the victims, according to WSVN-TV. This was not an attack on the LGBTQ community," Knight said in the statement. 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. Wilton Manors is just north of Fort Lauderdale. The collision happened during the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade.
Some witnesses said the crash appeared to be an intentional act, but Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Ali Adamson told reporters that authorities were investigating all possibilities. A driver slammed into spectators Saturday evening at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida, killing one man and seriously injuring another, authorities said. Police and firefighters respond after a truck drove into a crowd of people injuring them during The Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival in Wilton Manors, Fla., on Saturday, June 19, 2021.