Police Say Florida Pride Parade Crash Was 'Not A Criminal Act' But An Accident

The recent Florida Pride parade crash that left one dead and another injured, was not intentional, said police. Fort Lauderdale police said the 77-year-old man who drove a truck into the parade in Florida, had ailments that prevented him from walking and had been chosen to conduct the lead vehicle.

According to preliminary investigation, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly at the beginning of the Saturday event. The man was taken into custody, but police said that charges had not been filed, reported BBC.

Police found him co-operating with the investigation and said that there were no signs that he had taken drugs or alcohol before the incident, which took place at the Wilton Manors Stonewall event, north of Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who attended the parade, said that the "horrifying" events had "terrorized" him and that he felt at the moment that it could have been intentional. "As the facts continue to be pieced together, a picture is emerging of an accident in which a truck careened out of control," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

The second man who was hit by the truck is still in a hospital but his injuries are not life-threatening. The identities of the driver and the pedestrians have not been shared, but they were all members of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus which was involved in the Pride event.

"Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community," President Justin Knight said in a statement.

Gary Blocker, police chief in Wilton Manors, said that investigators from Fort Lauderdale and the FBI helped local police in reaching a conclusion, reported NBC News. “Today we know yesterday’s incident was a tragic accident, and not a criminal act directed at anyone, or any group of individuals,” he said on Sunday.

Blocker did not share details about what caused the accident.

Joey Spears told USA Today that he was walking when he saw the truck drive through the crowd. "All of a sudden I see this truck peel out and just going through the people," he recalled. Following the incident, Spears captured video that showed a person on the ground.

Spears said that he and the people he was with were cornered off by police at a high school parking lot for about an hour. Later they were allowed to leave the area. It was around that time that they started marching.

Photos and video from the spot showed Democratic US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz getting emotional while in a convertible at the event that is held annually in June. In a statement issued on Saturday night, Schultz said that she was safe but “deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost.” “I am so heartbroken by what took place at this celebration. May the memory of the life lost be for a blessing,” she added.