Girl dies after being hit by pickup truck during Raleigh Christmas Parade; Driver faces multiple charges - WRAL News

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Raleigh Christmas Parade was canceled connected Saturday greeting aft a tragic crook of events led to a girl's death.

Around 10:25, the parade was paused arsenic constabulary and aesculapian unit responded to the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Boylan Avenue.

An out-of-control pickup motortruck deed a miss performing with CC & Company Dance Complex, a radical that has performed successful the parade successful the past.

The miss was taken to the hospital, wherever she died from her injuries. The girl's sanction was not released.

Other girls from the creation institution could beryllium seen crying, being hugged by household members.

"We are inactive successful daze arsenic we constitute these words to you. This morning's events person devastated us. We besides cognize that galore different young ones witnessed this calamity and that is hard to fathom arsenic well," the creation institution said a connection Saturday. "We ne'er expected to acquisition a time similar today, and the lone happening getting america done is the tremendous emotion and enactment we've seen expressed among our CC & Co. Dance family."

Video taken from the country shows the motortruck arsenic it began to suffer control, gaining velocity arsenic it blared its horn. Some radical scattered retired of its way, portion others raced towards the truck, trying to halt it from moving into the parade patrons up of it.

The Raleigh Police Department said 20-year-old Landen Christopher Glass was arrested and charged with misdemeanor decease by centrifugal vehicle, careless and reckless, improper equipment, unsafe movement, and carrying a firearm successful a parade. 

Witnesses stock the harrowing details of fatal parade crash

A pistillate who witnessed the incidental spoke with WRAL, describing the chaotic scene:

"The girls kept dancing, and past precise rapidly parted arsenic the motortruck moved done them. There were much dancers beyond this group. We were all, I think, wondering if it was portion of the parade. Perhaps [the truck] picked up a small spot of velocity and it kept honking, and past determination was rather a spot much chaos. Everyone started to look confused. I bash not know, possibly the occurrence motor and different archetypal responders helped halt the truck. I americium not wide whether oregon not idiosyncratic was deed connected the ground."

Witnesses told WRAL News the operator of the achromatic pickup motortruck pulling the CC & Co. Dance interval was yelling that helium had mislaid his brakes and could not stop. The motortruck past careened into the dancers arsenic adults hustled them retired of the road.

"All of a abrupt we looked up and saw a motortruck connected the different broadside of the roadworthy benignant of coming towards us," said Worth Creech, an eyewitness. "They were capable to get astir of the girls retired of the way. Unfortunately, we saw 1 of the girls get tally over."

Another bystander told WRAL she saw the miss connected the crushed with a broad covering her.

Christine Barnes, who watched the country unfold, said, "[The driver] conscionable couldn't stop. He was laying connected the horn, but the girls conscionable couldn't perceive it due to the fact that of the euphony and dancing, and truthful adults were trying to get kids retired of the mode arsenic accelerated arsenic possible."

"The girls were conscionable hysterical," said Barnes. "It was truly traumatizing."

She said the motortruck came wrong inches of hitting respective different girls successful the creation performance.

"The motortruck wasn't going that fast, but due to the fact that the girls had nary thought it was coming -- they conscionable couldn't get retired of the way. They were astatine the mercy of idiosyncratic other moving them retired of the way," she said.

She said the motortruck was connected a decline, seemingly pushed downhill by the value of the interval down it.

Some heroic radical took action, including Raleigh constabulary and archetypal responders, sprinting aft the motortruck to effort and halt it.

Creech and his 12-year-old lad ran with others to effort and halt the truck, past helium ran backmost to the victim.

"She was conscionable lying there. People were trying to assistance her," said Creech. "There was a batch of blood, unfortunately. Everyone was crying."

Crying parents hurried to the country from the parade way looking for their children.

WRAL spoke with Marilee Johnson and her girl Megan soon aft they were reunited.

"I was upset and truthful I conscionable tried to fig retired wherever she was," said Johnson.

Her girl added, "We didn't cognize what the motortruck was doing and we didn't cognize if we were expected to determination oregon anything."

State, section officials respond to tragic parade crash

It marked a traumatic extremity to the 78th Annual Raleigh Christmas Parade. The parade lasted for astir an hr earlier the accident. Raleigh constabulary main Estella Patterson had nary remark connected the substance arsenic of 11 a.m.

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said, "Today started with specified joy. The parade way was packed with smiling kids and it made my bosom truthful blessed to see. Now we are each devastated by the quality of this tragic mishap and praying for the unfortunate and her family. It is heartbreaking.”

Governor Roy Cooper tweeted successful the hours aft the crash, "In a joyous play connected what should beryllium a blessed day, we alternatively mourn for this household and their friends arsenic we support them successful our prayers."

Part of Hillsborough Street was closed portion constabulary investigate.