Five crushed to death, 40 injured as car rams into crowd at Waukesha Christmas parade

At least , five persons have been confirmed dead and 40 others injured after a vehicle has crashed into crowds at a Christmas parade in a town in Wisconsin.

A red sport SUV drove at speed into crowds in a “tragic incident” in Waukesha about 20 miles west of Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon, the town’s police chief, Dan Thompson, told a media conference on Sunday night, TheGuardian report.

This was recorded from the City of Waukesha’s Facebook account, which was streaming the parade.

You can see a red SUV speed right past these band members, hear screams and then a law enforcement officer running. @fox6now pic.twitter.com/8lO5oRuP1I

— Sam Kraemer (@SamKraemerTV) November 21, 2021
Eleven adults and 12 children were taken to hospital, Thompson said, who declined to give any more details about the casualties until families were notified.

“Some of the individuals were children and there are some fatalities as a result of this incident,” Thompson told reporters.

“We’re working with the families, that is our priority in this tragic incident.”

The investigation was still “very fluid”, he added, and he did not know if the incident was terror-related. However, one person of interest was in custody and the vehicle involved had been recovered.

Police investigate at the scene of the crash.
Police investigate at the scene of the crash. Photograph: Mike De Sisti/AP
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In one video posted on social media, a red SUV appears to speed toward marchers, and in a second video police appear to open fire on the same vehicle as it crashes through street barriers.

Eyewitnesses estimated the car was travelling at around 40mph when it struck the crowds.

Another post appeared to show the car driving into a group of teenage girls dancing with white pompoms and wearing Santa hats. Another appeared to show the SUV hitting members of a marching band.

Corey Montiho, a Waukesha school district board member, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his daughter’s dance team was hit by the SUV. “They were pom-poms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere. I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to find my daughter,” he said. “My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everybody. Please pray.”