Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis is facing backlash for calling a deadly crash at a Pride parade in the Florida city a “terrorist attack against the LGBT community” before all the facts emerged.
“I hope @DeanTrantalis gets sued and then removed from office or defeated. Government officials shouldn’t be able accuse someone of *terrorism* so flippantly without facts,” conservative author David Reaboi wrote on Twitter.
The driver and the victims were part of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus family, according to a statement reported by news outlets from the group’s president, Justin Knight.”To my knowledge it was an accident. This was not an attack on the LGBTQ community,” Knight said in the statement. “We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community’s love and support.”
Police said the driver was a 77-year-old male who had ailments preventing him from walking the duration of the parade and he was selected to drive as the lead vehicle. As the parade was about to begin, a 2011 white Dodge Ram unexpectedly accelerated into the crowd.
One man was killed and another man was seriously injured. The truck narrowly missed Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who was present at the parade. It continued across all lanes of traffic before crashing into the fence of a business, police said.
Police said the driver remained on scene and has been cooperative with investigators for the duration of the investigation. They said the driver showed no signs of impairment while driving.
