Aspiring nurse, former football star and father of 2 among the dead in New Orleans truck attack
CBC
An 18-year-old girl dreaming of becoming a nurse, a father of two and a former Princeton football star were among those killed in New Orleans when the driver of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Street, packed with holiday revellers early Wednesday morning.
Officials have not yet released the names of the 15 people who died in the New Year's Day truck attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories.
New Orleans coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said in a statement late Wednesday that they will release the names of the dead once autopsies are complete and they've talked with the next of kin. About 30 people were injured in the attack. Here are the names of some of the victims:
Zion Parsons of Gulfport, Miss., had been celebrating New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street in the city's French Quarter when a pickup truck appeared and plowed into his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, who he said had dreamed of becoming a nurse.
"A truck hit the corner and comes barrelling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air," Parsons, 18, told The Associated Press. "It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive."
The driver steered around a police blockade and slammed into revellers before being shot dead by police during an exchange of gunfire. Parsons described the gruesome aftermath of bleeding and maimed victims, hearing gunshots and explosive sounds.
"Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering," Parsons said. "People crying on the floor, like brain matter all over the ground. It was just insane, like the closest thing to a war zone that I've ever seen."
Dedeaux was a responsible daughter and helped take care of her siblings, Parsons said. Dedeaux also had a job at a hospital and was set to start college and begin working toward her goal of becoming a registered nurse.
"She had her mindset — she didn't have everything figured out but she had the plan laid down," Parsons said.
Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, La., was also among those killed early Wednesday on Bourbon Street in what officials are investigating as an act of terror.
Hunter had just left work and headed to celebrate New Year's with a cousin when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.
Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.
A former high school and college football player from Louisiana was another victim who died after the driver of the truck accelerated and slammed into the crowd, according to an education official.
Tiger Bech, 28, died late Wednesday morning at a New Orleans hospital, according to local media outlets, citing Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, La. Bech attended the high school, where he played wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive back, Nola.com reported.
