NEW ORLEANS — A man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras parade float Saturday night in New Orleans, the second fatal incident this week.
The victim was caught between two parts of the Captain S.S. Eddie, a tandem float in the Endymion parade, and crushed beneath it, WWL-TV reported.
Update 2:50 p.m. EST Feb. 23: Family members identified the man struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float Saturday as Joe Sampson, 58, WDSU reported.
Sampson was watching the Krewe of Endymion float when he was stuck just before 7 p.m., the television station reported.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell released a statement Sunday, saying in part: “In wake of the tragic incidents along parade routes this week, our City’s public safety team is leaning forward with immediate proactive efforts to keep our residents and our visitors safe this season.”
Original report: The man was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Times-Picayune reported. His identity has not been released.
The rest of the parade, 23 floats, was canceled.
Float number 13 will be the last float in the #Endymion parade. The remainder of the parade is cancelled and the remaining floats & elements will not continue on the route.
— NOLA Ready (@nolaready) February 23, 2020
The fatal accident Wednesday that left Geraldine Carmouche, 58, dead also involved a tandem float.
In response to the latest death, city officials have banned all tandem floats for the remainder of the Carnival season, WWL-TV reported.
A curtain over the hitch of two floats during Endymion's Mardi Gras parade covers the scene of an accident where a person was hit and killed.
— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) February 23, 2020
Photo by @fstopshere pic.twitter.com/4jcL1XSTRZ
This is not the first fatal incident for the Captain S.S. Eddie float.
It struck and killed a rider in 2008, the Times-Picayune reported.
Cox Media Group
