14 DAY TRIAL // July 4 celebrations in Oklahoma ended in disaster as a little boy fell off a parade float, then got run over and killed by his father, driving the trailer.
According to NBC News, the incident took place before 11 a.m. during the LibertyFest celebration in the town of Edmond.
“This is our 41st parade on record and we’ve never had a serious injury before. [...] To the best of my knowledge we’ve never had an injury that required medical transportation,” Officer James Hamm tells KFOR.
The 8-year-old boy, whose name has not been released to the press, fell off the trailer, although some witnesses describe him falling or jumping out.
“We’ve been speaking with witnesses. Some have said he kind of physically got off and some he looked like he may have fell. So we’re just trying to determine which one of those is accurate,” Hamm adds.
His father couldn't spot him and he drove over the young boy. The parade was stopped and he was transported to UC Presbyterian Hospital.
“The driver, obviously unknowing what was going on, drove forward and ran over the child,” Hamm says.
While he still had a pulse when EMTs arrived, he succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, on the same day.
“Right now our thoughts and prayers are with this family of this little boy and the accident that happened,” LibertyFest President Robby Allen expresses.
He adds that organizers take safety precautions when putting together a parade. All drivers are tried, trained and tested before the event.
“All the parade entrants build their own floats they operate their own float. [...] They’re required to have licensed drivers in good standing to operate them. They are invited to attend a pre parade briefing if they choose to and then operate safely,” Allen adds.