Wisconsin Christmas parade live updates: Driver may have been fleeing previous incident

Written by on November 22, 2021

(WAUKESHA, Wis.) — Five people were killed and more than 40 were hurt when an SUV barreled into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Children are among the injured.

A person of interest is in custody, authorities said.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Nov 22, 11:23 am

Man recounts ‘SUV hurtling towards me’

Brayden Kowalski was at the parade in Waukesha, which he described as “a very loving community,” when he “saw about a block away, the SUV hurtling towards me.”

He pulled his nephews, ages 4 and 6, out of the vehicle’s path at the last minute. The SUV was about 5 feet away, Kowalski said.

Kowalski said he “was fear-stricken, but I just, I tried the best I could to help,” escorting people from the street over to the sidewalks.

Of the driver, he said, “I don’t know if they were targeting people, but they for sure weren’t dodging people. “

Nov 22, 11:07 am

18 treated at children’s hospital

Children’s Wisconsin, the pediatric trauma center for the area, has treated 18 children following the crash, hospital officials said.

Nov 22, 10:55 am

Driver may have been fleeing previous incident

Based on video evidence and interviews, investigators’ preliminary assessment is that the driver wasn’t aiming at specific parade participants but was speeding through the route to flee an earlier incident, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Authorities scoured social media and other digital platforms associated with the person of interest overnight. At this point authorities have no reason to believe there is any connection to radicalization, extremism or the ongoing debate about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, the sources said.

-ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


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