Young girl dies after being hit by out-of-control truck in Raleigh Christmas Parade; driver charged

RALEIGH, N.C. — Raleigh police confirmed Saturday a girl who was accidentally hit by a truck towing a float during the Raleigh Christmas Parade has died, according to WTVD.

The crash happened around 10:14 a.m. Saturday, near the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Boylan Avenue, when the driver said he lost control of the truck, according to police. He hit a child at a low rate of speed, officials said.

The driver, Landen Christopher Glass, 20, is facing charges of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, careless and reckless driving, improper equipment, unsafe movement and carrying a firearm in a parade, according to WTVD.

“I just saw them coming down the street really fast and you can tell it was not like gas, like they weren’t gassing, it was rolling, kind of rolling down the street. They were freaking out, yelling at people get out the way like you can tell they were panicking,” parade goer Melissa Stephens told WTVD.

Video showed a group of people running over to the truck to try to stop it.

“People came up and were helping grab it, slow it down a little bit. They were trying to slow it down when it got to this point,” John Jones told WTVD.

Christy Curtis, the owner of the CC & Company Dance Complex where the young girl danced, released a statement Saturday evening:

“We are devastated. Our dance family is a close-knit group and today our hearts are broken. We are working closely with authorities as they determine what happened and why.”

The Parade was canceled immediately, according to WTVD.

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