2 People Killed by New Orleans Mardi Gras Floats in Separate Incidents

An adult man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float during a Saturday night parade in New Orleans on Saturday, officials said.

The man was the second person to be killed by a parade float during the 2020 Mardi Gras season. Both victims were struck by tandem floats, in which one tractor pulls as many as three or four attached floats, said New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told reporters on Saturday.

Ferguson announced a ban on tandem floats for the remainder of the 2020 Carnival season.

“I do have my concerns, and I think we have to do our due diligence in making sure that this is a safe Carnival for everyone,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson said that the most recent victim was struck by the 14th float in the Endymion parade at around 6:55 p.m. last night.

NOLA.com and the Times-Picayune reported that the float is called “Captain S.S. Eddie,” which also struck and killed a rider during a 2008 Endymion parade.

On Wednesday, a 58-year-old woman from New Orleans was killed by a tandem float during the Mystic Krewe of Nyx parade, the Associated Press reported.

The deaths were not the first time that Mardi Gras parades have turned to tragedy. Just last year, a man drove his car into a bike lane near a parade route, striking nine cyclists and killing two. Before the incident on Wednesday, a Carnival float had not been involved in a fatality since 2009, when a rider was struck and killed by a float in Carencro, La., according to the Associated Press.

The first New Orleans Mardi Gras parade of 2020 took place on Jan. 4 this year, and the final parade is scheduled for March 1.