CNN
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Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said a young girl has died after being hit by a truck during a parade in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday.
A large crowd was watching the Raleigh Christmas Parade near the North Carolina State Capitol when a white truck pulling the float began to drift. Video from CNN affiliate WTVD appeared to show people running for cover. But the truck struck a young girl, according to WTVD.
“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of the little girl who lost her life in the Raleigh Christmas Parade today. Our prayers go out to her family, friends and CC & Co. dancers,” Baldwin said in a tweet.
In a news release, the Raleigh Police Department identified the driver of the parade float as 20-year-old Landen Christopher Glass. Glass has been arrested and faces multiple charges including misdemeanor motor vehicle death, unsafe act and carrying a firearm at a parade, according to a news release.
He is being held at the Wake County Detention Center on $4,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Monday, according to online records from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office. It was not immediately clear if Glass had an attorney.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also expressed his condolences, said in a tweet“In a season of joy when what should be a day of joy, we instead mourn and pray for this family and their friends.”
One witness, Justin Kase Conder, told CNN that “people started screaming” as the lifted pickup truck pulled forward, honked its air horn.
Multiple witnesses said the white truck was out of control. Some people said they heard the driver screaming through the truck’s window that he couldn’t stop, WTVD reported. Raleigh police responded to the incident and the two people in the truck were escorted from the scene and placed in a police vehicle.
A float carrying some members of CC & Co. dancing club. According to WTVD, the dance troupe had 200 performers in the parade, some as young as 5 years old.
“As we write these words to you, we are still in shock. We are shocked by the events of this morning. We also know that many of our young people have witnessed this tragedy, which is also difficult to understand,” the dance group said. said in a Facebook post.
Police are investigating and the remainder of the Raleigh Christmas Parade has been canceled over the event, according to WTVD.
CNN has reached out to the Raleigh Police Department for information about the truck driver and the circumstances surrounding the incident.