Rather than some sort of attack on Christmas, this looks to be a story of a simple drunk driver. Regardless, this is sad news out of Bakersfield.
About 15 minutes before the Christmas parade was set to begin, a Ford F-150 sped through the street where the procession had gathered to begin the parade. The truck would eventually strike three men before crashing into a wall at the fire station.
The Bakersfield Christmas Parade almost ended before it started Thursday night after a truck crashed into a crowd outside the downtown fire station, injuring at least three people, one of them critically, authorities said.
The accident happened at 21st and H streets about 15 minutes prior to the parade's scheduled start at 6 p.m., Bakersfield Police Department Sgt. Andrew Tipton said.
The parade, however, carried on following a delay. City police said the procession was re-routed along Chester Avenue, two blocks from the crash, with somewhat fewer participants …
A battalion chief with the Bakersfield Fire Department later said one person was critically hurt and two suffered moderate injuries. The driver of the Ford F-150, he added, was taken into custody, uninjured, on suspicion of DUI.
This is being treated as a DUI, and the story seems to suggest the same. The truck had been parked in a nearby alleyway, and when the driver got in he reversed from the alleyway at a high speed. He apparently struck a food truck before making his way to the crowd, and once he crashed into the wall at the fire station he made an attempt to drive off. The truck, however, wouldn't budge.
By the looks of the crash site and the distance from the alleyway, it looks like the truck was in reverse for the entirety of this mayhem. Witnesses say the driver attempted to fight off the police as they detained him.
The parade would go on, however, and was rerouted a few blocks from the crash site. Thank God the truck stalled at the fire station, or who knows how many more would've been injured.
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