“Initial reports show so far about a dozen people are in critical condition,” New Orleans police said in a statement.
A total of 21 victims have been promptly transported to nearby hospitals, while another seven people who suffered minor injuries declined hospitalization.
The car apparently collided with another vehicle, then plowed into the crowd.
The incident occurred at 6:45pm local time at the junction of Orleans and North Carrollton avenues, WVUE reported.
#BREAKING: 1 of the victims was a female police officer. #NewOrleanspic.twitter.com/gmKAI9IaEP
— BreakingNewsHQ1 (@BreakingNewsHQ1) February 26, 2017
One police officer has been “physically injured and affected” as result of the incident, the authorities said.
The female officer was struck by the vehicle and suffered “non-life threatening injuries,” Michael S. Harrison, superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, told a press conference.
There is no indication the incident was a planned attack, authorities said.
“At this time it appears that it’s a subject who was overly intoxicated, who struck a number of vehicles, and it veered off, hitting a whole bunch of innocent people”, Harrison said, dismissing the idea that the collision might have been intentional.
Breaking: #Neworleans police investigating a crash where a vehicle ran into a crowd of people. A dozen are in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/1J2tKu1XvI
— Laura Podesta (@LauraPodesta7) February 26, 2017
Kourtney McKinnis, an eyewitness to the incident, told the Advocate that the driver appeared unable to comprehend his actions.
“He was just kind of out of it,” she told the outlet.
The ages of the injured are ranging from 3-4 years old to about 40 years old, Harrison announced.
