Authorities in New Iberia, Louisiana, have mentioned the incident doesn’t seem like an intentional car-ramming.
Printed On 4 Apr 2026
An estimated 15 folks have been injured in Louisiana’s Iberia Parish, after a automobile struck individuals at a Lao New Yr parade in the USA.
In line with an announcement from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Workplace on Saturday, some attendees have been severely injured.
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“Based mostly on the preliminary investigation, this doesn’t seem like an intentional act,” mentioned Rebecca Melancon, a sheriff’s workplace spokesperson.
The Acadian Ambulance firm confirmed on social media that it had taken 11 folks to the hospital utilizing floor transport, and one other two victims have been airlifted to hunt pressing care. Ten ambulances and two medical helicopters have been deployed to the scene.
The incident came about in New Iberia, a metropolis of greater than 28,000 in Iberia Parish, some 34km (21 miles) south of Lafayette, Louisiana. It’s located roughly 214km (130 miles) west of New Orleans.
The Louisiana Lao New Yr Competition parade is an annual custom on Easter weekend within the parish, and the celebration options reside music, meals distributors and a magnificence pageant.
Within the aftermath of the automobile crash, the pageant issued an announcement on social media, saying that each one of its safety sources had been surged to the scene.
“We’re profoundly saddened by the information of the incident close to the pageant grounds,” pageant organisers wrote. “We’re awaiting further particulars from authorities as they grow to be accessible.”
They added that Saturday’s musical occasions have been cancelled, although distributors have been permitted to remain open till 9pm native time (2:00am GMT, Sunday).
“We’re praying for the victims and for his or her households throughout this tough time,” the organisers wrote. “As of now, and if safety sources are restored for tomorrow (Sunday) we’ll reopen solely the spiritual providers of the pageant, and distributors will keep open.”
The Lao New Yr is a practice usually related to Buddhism, and it takes place annually in April, because the dry warmth in Laos provides option to the moist monsoon season.
Louisiana is dwelling to a small however vibrant Lao group. In New Iberia, one neighbourhood known as Lanexang Village — roughly translated to the “million elephants” village — and it’s reportedly dwelling to a whole bunch of Lao folks.
Many arrived on account of the Vietnam Battle, which bled into Laos, with communist and US-backed forces clashing over the course of practically 16 years.
The Pathet Lao, a communist motion, in the end took over the nation in 1975, ending Laos’s monarchy. A whole bunch of hundreds of individuals fled within the aftermath, with many resettling in international locations like Thailand and the US.
