RALEIGH, N.C. — The driver of a truck pulling a float in the Raleigh Christmas Parade lost control and fatally struck a girl Saturday morning, police said.
Participants and police rushed to halt the truck, which was going at a slow speed about 10:14 a.m. towing a float with numerous participants.
The girl died despite life-saving efforts by medical personnel, police said in a news release Saturday afternoon.
The driver, whom police identified as Landen Christopher Glass, 20, faces charges and is cooperating with investigators.
The girl was participating in the parade with a troupe from CC & Company Dance Complex, a Raleigh dance school, the News & Observer reported.
School officials said on social media that they were shocked and devastated by the accident.
The parade was canceled, and police urged motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area near Hillsborough Street and Boylan Avenue as they investigated.
No one else was injured, police said.
The driver of the truck faces charges including misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, unsafe movement and carrying a firearm in a parade, police said.
State and city officials, including Gov. Roy Cooper and Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, expressed grief Saturday afternoon over the crash.
The 78th annual parade started at 9:40 a.m. and was set to travel a route including Hillsborough and Fayetteville streets.