Rolli was on the other side of the float and didn’t witness the crash, but jumped off immediately and ran to the victims.
The driver continued across all lanes of traffic, ultimately crashing into a fence on the other side of the street, police said. Trantalis said the driver of a pickup truck suddenly accelerated when he was told he was next in the parade, crashing into the victims. Rolli was on the float in front of the chorus truck along with Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and other city officials at a staging area where the floats were being readied. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community,” President Justin Knight said in a statement Sunday, calling it “an unfortunate accident.” “Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family.
The driver and the victims were a part of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus family, a small 25-member group of mostly older men. “The early investigation now indicates it looks like it was a tragic accident, but nobody’s saying finally what it is,” Rolli told The Associated Press in a phone interview. 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.The elderly driver had ailments that prevented him from walking, according to a statement Sunday from Fort Lauderdale Police, who said he was cooperating with the investigation and there was no evidence drugs or alcohol was involved. A spokesperson for Wasserman Schultz did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Photos and video from the scene showed Wasserman Schultz in tears at the scene. It was definitely an intentional act right across the lanes of traffic.” “All of a sudden there was a loud revving of a truck and a crash through a fence. Spectator Christina Currie told the South Florida SunSentinel. This tragedy took place within feet of me and my team, and we are devastated having witnessed this horrific incident.”
“Though authorities are still gathering information, we know two individuals marching to celebrate inclusion and equality were struck by a vehicle. Scott Newton, the mayor of Wilton Manors, which lies just north of Fort Lauderdale, said: “Out of respect for everyone involved, the parade has been canceled and a thorough investigation is being conducted.”īroward County sheriff Gregory Tony said in a statement. “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, Wasserman Schultz said she was safe but “deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost”. “The parade had just begun and we saw people lining up and ready to move and all of a sudden this white pickup truck dashed right through the crowd, barely missing congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s car by inches and smashed through a gate,” he said.
Trantalis said the vehicle came within inches of Democratic US representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was in a convertible at the parade. Wilton Manors police tweeted that the public was not in danger. It is unclear whether he has been charged. The suspect was “part of the Chorus family” and the injured were members, he told local media.įort Lauderdale police detective Ali Adamson said authorities were investigating “all possibilities”, with the help of the FBI but did not say whether they believed the incident was intentional. Justin Knight, the president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus, whose logo the suspect wore on his t-shirt, said that to his knowledge it was a “tragic accident” and not an attack on the LGBTQ community. Trantalis said he believed it to be a deliberate attack.