A vintage car carrying the Wisconsin Christmas Parade turned into a snow angel on Saturday after it was struck by an SUV that sped through the street, according to the New York Times. The truck appeared to be going at a “very high rate of speed” when it careened into the crowd watching the small parade, according to a witness. “I tried to run to get [the woman] away from the truck, but it came so fast, it came through really fast, I really didn’t know what to do.”
Law enforcement say the driver sped away from the scene on foot. The investigation into the incident continues and more information is expected to be released on Monday. The 59-year-old woman who was driving the Chevy Silverado was taken to a local hospital, according to police, where she is expected to be treated for “pelvic and other pains.” The parade went on as scheduled despite the incident.
Jennifer MacPhail, a spokeswoman for the Madison Police Department, told the New York Times that: “The preliminary investigation indicates that the Dodge Caliber driven by the lone female, a 59-year-old woman, was traveling northbound at a very high rate of speed, and failed to negotiate a curve on Doyles Avenue, striking the corner of a trolley shelter, which in turn hit a 2018 Chevy Silverado driving eastbound, swerving into the southbound lane. The Silverado collided with the front of a delivery truck that was traveling along the outside curb of the road.”
Videos and photographs of the aftermath show bystanders picking up skidding cars and bystanders recovering from shock, as the memory of what was witnessed by some as innocent Christmas fun grows dimmer.
“It was all heart-wrenching, and pretty much the closest thing I’ve ever seen to horror film,” Cara Biller, who watched the parade from a bus, told the Associated Press.
The car had been driven by Kathy Bonar, a mother of six and widow of a police officer who died in a crash in 2014. Her son Josh and a friend, Nico Bonar, both of whom rode with her in the parade, suffered minor injuries.
“We always knew this could happen,” Josh Bonar told the Wisconsin State Journal. “But you never think it would happen like this.”
No charges have been filed against the driver. Police say that there is “no indication that the vehicle’s driver was impaired,” according to the Madison Police Department.
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