1 person was killed after being hit by a truck during a Christmas parade in Raleigh
By Mallika Kallingal, Rebekah Riess and Giovanna Van Leeuwen, CNN
A young girl who was hit by a truck during a parade in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday has died, according to Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin.
A large crowd of people were watching the Raleigh Christmas Parade near the North Carolina State Capitol when a white truck pulling a float started drifting. Video from CNN affiliate WTVD appeared to show people running to get out of the way. But the truck hit a young girl, according to WTVD.
“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of the young girl who lost her life today at the Raleigh Christmas Parade. Our prayers are with her family, friends and the dancers from CC & Co.,” Baldwin said in a tweet.
In a press release, the Raleigh Police Department identified the driver of the parade float truck as 20-year-old Landen Christopher Glass. Glass was arrested and is facing charges that include misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, unsafe movement and carrying a firearm in a parade, according to the release.
He is being held at the Wake County Detention Center on a $4,000 bond and has a court appearance scheduled for Monday, according to online records from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office. It is unclear whether Glass has an attorney.
North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper also expressed his condolences, saying in a tweet, “In a joyous season on what should be a happy day, we instead mourn for this family and their friends as we keep them in our prayers.”
One eyewitness, Justin Kase Conder, told CNN the raised pick-up truck suddenly pulled forward, honked an air horn and “people started screaming.”
Multiple witnesses said the white truck lost control. And some people said they heard the driver screaming out of the truck’s window that he couldn’t stop the vehicle, according to WTVD. Raleigh police responded to the incident and both people in the truck were escorted away from the scene and placed in a police vehicle.
The float was carrying some members of the CC & Co. Dance troupe. The dance troupe had 200 performers in the parade, with some as young as five years old, according to WTVD.
“We are still in shock as we write these words to you. This morning’s events have devastated us. We also know many of our young ones witnessed this tragedy and that is hard to fathom as well,” the dance company said in a Facebook post.
A police investigation is underway and the remainder of the Raleigh Christmas Parade was canceled because of the incident, according to WTVD.
CNN has reached out to the Raleigh Police Department for information about the truck driver and the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Raja Razek contributed to this report
