The revelry of New Orleans Mardi Gras has turned deadly after a woman, who tried to get between two connected floats, tripped and was run over.
Police said the woman tripped over the hitch of the tandem float during the Mystic Krewe of NYX, The Associated Press reported. Police believe she was trying to get beads tossed from the float when she was hit, NOLA.com reported.
Police identified the woman as Geraldine Carmouche, 58, Nola.com reported.
The parade is run by an all-female Carnival krewe and Carmouche was a relative of two of its members, NOLA.com reported.
It is the largest parade with 3,348 members and 88 floats if you count the tandem floats, like the one the woman was hit by, as separate units, NOLA.com reported.
The float in question was float 21 of the parade.
The show ended early and the remaining floats were diverted from the parade route in New Orleans, the AP reported.
This isn’t the first time someone was killed during, or shortly after, a parade. Last year a car drove in a bicycle lane, hitting nine riders and killing two, the AP reported.
A krewe member fell from a float in 2009 in Carencro, Louisiana. In 2008, a rider fell off of a float in New Orleans when it moved unexpectedly, running over him, the AP reported.
This is the final week of the Carnaval season, with Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, occurring on Feb. 25.
Cox Media Group