Woman killed after getting trapped under St. Patrick’s Day parade float in Kentucky
A Kentucky woman has been killed after getting trapped underneath a St Patrick’s Day Parade float on Saturday afternoon, according to reports.
The parade was in full swing in Louisville when the woman, who was taking part in the parade, caught her foot underneath the float. Then, the as-yet unnamed woman fell and was struck by the vehicle, a spokesperson from the Louisville Metro Police told Wave News.
Officers responded to the incident at around 4 p.m., and the woman was subsequently rushed to the University of Louisville Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The huge event on Saturday marched through The Highlands, an area of Louisville known for its bustling bars and restaurants. However, the procession abruptly ground to a halt in the area following the collision.
Video footage obtained by WDRB News showed onlookers swarming around a motionless float carrying balloons and bales of hay.
David Gnamba, who was working at his family’s food truck just across from the crash, said that he saw “somebody on a stretcher.”
“It does break my heart because that’s a person that lost their life,” he said. “This is not news that we want to hear – as human beings, as vendors, as people, as partygoers.”
Stephanie Youstra, who has marched in the parade as a mascot for 10 years, told Wave News that she noticed that something was wrong when the floats behind her stopped.
She was later told about the collision by other people helping out at the parade.
“My heart goes out to anyone who was in that float, and all the people in that float, and the family… I just, I can’t imagine what they are all feeling,” she told Wave News.
Craig Greenberg, Louisville’s mayor, shared a statement in the wake of the crash.
“I am so sorry to hear about the tragic accident that took a woman’s life at today’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade,” he wrote on X. “Please join Rachel and me in keeping her family and friends in your prayers.
“May her memory be a blessing.”
The Hibernian Cultural and Charitable Association, Inc., which organized the parade, released its own statement on Facebook.
