Photos and video from the scene showed Democratic U.S. “As the facts continue to be pieced together, a picture is emerging of an accident in which a truck careened out of control.” “It terrorized me and all around me … I feared it could be intentional based on what I saw from mere feet away,” he said in a Twitter statement Sunday. Trantalis, who is Fort Lauderdale’s first openly gay mayor, initially told reporters the act was deliberate, adding to the confusion Saturday night. The town is a city in Broward County with a population of about 13,000, according to the U.S. The Wilton Manors Pride event is held annually in June, according to the event’s website. Spears captured video of the aftermath that showed a person on the ground. Spears said he and the people he was with were cornered off by police at a local high school parking lot for about an hour before they were allowed to leave the area. "All of a sudden I see this truck peel out and just going through the people," Spears said.
Joey Spears, 25, told USA TODAY Saturday, that he was walking up to the start of the parade when he saw the truck drive through the crowd. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community," Knight said in a statement sent to the Associated Press, dispelling initial speculation of a hate crime.
"Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family. The "unfortunate accident" was first confirmed, along with the fact that the driver is a fellow chorus member, by President Justin Knight. The two injuries were to 67-year-old chorus member Jerry Vreough, who was discharged from the hospital, police said, and Gary Keating, 69, who was treated for minor injuries. The man killed, James Fahy, 75, was a member of the 25 strong Gay Men's Chorus Family. He had been driving forward in anticipation for the start of the parade when the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly, striking the two, Fort Lauderdale police said in a news release. He is cooperating with police, who say it is unlikely drugs or alcohol was involved. The driver, 77, was taken into custody, but police said no charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.
Wilton Manors Vice Mayor Paul Rolli and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said the early investigation shows it was an accident. A member of a men's chorus group unintentionally hit his fellow members at a Pride parade in South Florida Saturday, killing one chorist of the group and seriously injuring another, authorities said.