February 25, 2017

Gerald Herbert / AP

A truck crashed into a crowd of people gathered on the streets of New Orleans for a Mardi Gras parade Saturday night, injuring 28, police said.

Terrorism was not suspected in the incident, but police say alcohol is believed to have been a factor. A man suspected of being the driver was taken into custody at the scene, but not immediately identified.

The crash was reported at about 6:45 p.m. at the intersection of Orleans and Carrollton avenues, police said. Witnesses reported seeing a pickup truck crash into a parked car before plowing into the crowd.

According to a law enforcement source, the truck had been speeding down Carrollton Avenue when it sideswiped one car and rear-ended another, pushing the second vehicle into a telephone poll.

The pickup then swerved and crossed a median before crashing into a crowd. The driver was 26-years old, the law enforcement official added.

One witness told The Times-Picayune he heard the loud crashes before he saw the truck come to rest against a garbage bin. Several people appeared to be pinned between it and the truck.

“He took out rows of people,” Greg McNeely told The Times-Picayune.

The number of people injured in the crash was initially estimated at 12, but police later raised that to 28.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Police Chief Michael Harrison told reporters that of the 28 injured, 21 were hospitalized. Of those, five remained in “guarded condition,” but no life-threatening injuries were reported.

A New Orleans Police officer was among those injured, Harrison said. She was taken to a hospital to be treated but was “in good spirits,” he said.

Jeff Elder, director of EMS for the city of New Orleans, said the youngest person injured was a child that appeared to be 3 or 4 years old and was “very stable.”

Paramedics transported the injured to seven different hospitals in the area, Elder added.

View Video ›

Facebook: video.php

Video recorded by a reporter for local Fox station WVUE showed police detaining the suspected driver, who was wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

The Krewe of Endymion parade, meanwhile, continued on its route as crews worked to clear the scene.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates and follow BuzzFeed News on Twitter.