An 11-year-old girl dancer reportedly died after a truck hit her while she was performing in the Raleigh Christmas Parade in North Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 19.
The 11-year-old girl dancer was participating in the 78th annual parade and was dancing with her troupe CC & Co. Dance Complex in the Raleigh Christmas Parade in North Carolina at around 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19. While she was performing in the event, a truck driver towing a parade float lost control of his vehicle, hit her, ran over her and nearly hit several other dancers, People reported.
Even though first responders immediately applied life-saving measures, they were "unable to save her life."
The driver of the pickup truck has been identified as 20-year-old Landen C. Glass of Goode, Virginia.
According to eyewitness Justin Kase Conder, the tragedy occurred when the pick-up truck suddenly pulled forward. After seeing the truck move forward, Glass then honked the truck's air horn and yelled out of the truck's window that he couldn't stop the vehicle.
Glass is currently being held at the Wake County Detention Center on a $4,000 bond and is facing charges of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, unsafe movement, and carrying a firearm in a parade, Yahoo News reported.
Following the incident, the victim's dance group CC & Co. Dance Complex said many of the other young dancers saw the deadly incident and asked people to “reach out and check on each other.”
“This morning’s events have devastated us,” the dance troupe said in a statement. “We also know many of our young ones witnessed this tragedy and that is hard to fathom as well.”
“What we do know is that our hearts are broken and we must find ways to help each other through this,” the statement continued. “We never expected to experience a day like today, and the only thing getting us through is the tremendous love and support.”
Glass was assigned to “driver improvement” in the past and told police he works on the safety systems of cars. He was cited last year for improper equipment, speeding, and not having a vehicle inspection.
Further investigation revealed that the truck involved had improper brakes and equipment not adequate to control the vehicle’s movement.
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