Endymion float strikes, kills pedestrian on Canal St., remainder of parade canceled

NOPD
An Endymion float struck and killed a person on Canal St. at Galvez this evening, authorities say.

Emergency personnel are responding to an incident on the #Endymion route at Galvez. An individual was struck by a float and fatally injured. Please avoid this area of the parade route. ⚠️

— NOLA Ready #MardiGras (@nolaready) February 23, 2020 It was the fourteenth float in the parade, passing the area around 6:50 Saturday evening. The remainder of the parade was been canceled. Endymion ended at float number 13.

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 #MardiGras (@nolaready) February 23, 2020

This incident comes just days after a woman was hit by a float and killed during the Krewe of Nyx parade. A 58-year-old woman got caught between the first and second float of a tandem unit and was crushed Wednesday night.

That death was the first fatality at a Mardi Gras parade since 2008, when an Endymion krewe member was crushed after prematurely exiting his float in the disband area.

This incident also involved a tandem float, and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell this evening announced tandem floats will be banned for the remainder of this Mardi Gras.

"Moving forward throughout the Mardi Gras season 2020, we're also eliminating the use of tandem floats moving forward," said the mayor.

Tandem floats are featured prominently in upcoming parades such as Sunday's Thoth and Bacchus parades, and Lundi Gras' Krewe of Orpheus. Bacchus officials announced they are working with Kern Studios to de-couple their tandem rigs. Orpheus followed with a similar announcement.

For the remainder of the 2020 #MardiGras season, tandem floats—multiple floats connected together and pulled by one tractor—will not be allowed.

— NOLA Ready #MardiGras (@nolaready) February 23, 2020

BREAKING: Statement from Clark Brennan, Krewe of Bacchus captain pic.twitter.com/eHLUEkjzul

— Danny Monteverde (@DCMonteverde) February 23, 2020

Meanwhile, the Krewe of Endymion dispatched buses to pick up the members that were aboard float 14 and the following floats to bring them to the Convention Center for the Endymion Extravaganza, where the party proceeded as scheduled.

To be confronted with such tragedy a second time at the height of our Carnival celebrations seems an unimaginable burden to bear. The City and the people of New Orleans will come together, we will grieve together, and we will persevere together. pic.twitter.com/LpeZpuZXUR

— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) February 23, 2020