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Three of the 12
students were in critical but stable condition, a spokesman for
the coastal city of Gulf Shores, Grant Brown, said at a news
conference. Officials initially said four students were
critically injured.
The driver, who was not identified, did not suffer any injuries
and has not been charged.
"This was not involving drugs or alcohol, nor is there any
indication that this was an intentional act," Gulf Shores Police
Chief Edward Delmore said. "Every indication is that this was
just a tragic accident by an elderly man driving his vehicle."
The incident occurred after the Gulf Shores High School band led
the annual Mardi Gras parade down a state highway shortly after
10 a.m., followed by a 2008 Ford Expedition that was part of a
group participating in the parade, Brown said.
"And then something went terribly wrong and that vehicle that
was behind the band accelerated and struck the children," Brown
said.
The parade was canceled after the incident.
Police were gathering video footage and eye-witness accounts to
help determine what caused the driver to lose control, according
to Delmore. The driver was cooperative, offering statements and
blood samples voluntarily.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said in a statement that he had
directed the state law enforcement agency to coordinate and
assist local police.
The incident came just days after a drunk driver was accused of
hurtling a pickup truck into a crowd of spectators at a weekend
Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, injuring 28 people in a crash
that brought chaos to the city's signature celebration.
The Gulf Shores Mardi Gras parade dates back to 1978.
"This is the parade that's been going on for 39 years. These are
our children, these are our people," Brown said. "I don't know
how this happened. It is horrible."
(Reporting by Letitia Stein and Gina Cherelus; Editing by
Colleen Jenkins and Leslie Adler)
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