An 18-year-old woman dreaming of turning into a nurse, a single mom, a father of two and a former Princeton soccer star suffered deadly accidents when the driving force of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Road, full of vacation revelers.
Officers haven’t but launched the names of the 15 individuals killed within the New Orleans New 12 months’s Day truck assault, however their households and associates have began sharing their tales. New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna stated in an announcement late Wednesday that they’ll launch the names of the useless as soon as autopsies are full they usually’ve talked with the subsequent of kin. About 30 individuals have been injured.
Zion Parsons of Gulfport, Mississippi, had been celebrating New 12 months’s Eve at his first evening on Bourbon Road when a car appeared and plowed into his pal, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, who he stated had dreamed of turning into a nurse.
“A truck hit the nook and comes barreling by means of throwing individuals like in a film scene, throwing individuals into the air,” Parsons, 18, advised The Related Press. “It hit her and flung her like at the very least 30 ft and I used to be simply fortunate to be alive.”
Trevant Hayes, 20, sits within the French Quarter after the demise of his pal, Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, after a pickup truck crashed into pedestrians on Bourbon Road adopted by a taking pictures within the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Picture/Matthew Hinton).
As the group scattered within the chaos he ran by means of a grotesque aftermath of bleeding and maimed victims, listening to gunshots and explosive sounds.
“Our bodies, our bodies all up and down the road, everyone screaming and hollering” Parsons stated. “Folks crying on the ground, like mind matter all around the floor. It was simply insane, just like the closest factor to a warfare zone that I’ve ever seen.”
Dedeaux was a accountable daughter — shorter than all her siblings however the one who helped deal with everybody, Parsons stated. Dedeaux had a job at a hospital and was set to start out school and start working in the direction of her objective of turning into a registered nurse.
Zion Parsons, 18, talks in regards to the demise of his pal, Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, and the scene after a pickup truck crashed into pedestrians on Bourbon Road adopted by a taking pictures within the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Picture/Matthew Hinton).
“She had her mindset — she didn’t have every thing found out however she had the plan laid down,” Parsons stated.
A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, Reggie Hunter had simply left work and headed to have a good time New 12 months’s with a cousin when the assault occurred, his first cousin Shirell Jackson advised Nola.com.
Hunter died and his cousin was injured, Jackson stated.
A former highschool and school soccer participant from Louisiana was amongst those that died, based on an training official.
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Tiger Bech, 27, died late Wednesday morning at a New Orleans hospital, based on native media retailers citing Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas Extra Catholic Excessive Faculty in Lafayette. Bech attended the highschool, the place he performed large receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive again, NOLA.com reported.
Bech performed soccer at Princeton College earlier than graduating in 2021. Most lately he was working as an funding dealer at a New York brokerage agency.
Princeton soccer coach Bob Surace stated Wednesday that he had been texting with Bech’s father, sharing recollections of the participant, who was a college kick returner and receiver from 2017 to 2019. He earned All-Ivy League honors as a returner.
“He could be the primary Tiger to ever play for us, and that nickname sort of described him as a competitor,” Surace advised ESPN. The college’s nickname is the Tigers. “He was any individual that one way or the other, like in the important thing moments, simply excelled and was filled with vitality, energetic.”
Bech has been working at Seaport World, the place firm spokesperson Lisa Lieberman couldn’t verify his demise. However she advised The Related Press that “he was extraordinarily effectively regarded by everyone who knew him.”
Bech’s youthful brother, Jack, is a high large receiver at Texas Christian College.
In a response to a KLFY-TV report posted on X about Tiger Bech’s demise, a submit from an account for a Jack Bech on the social media website stated: “Love you all the time brother ! You impressed me on a regular basis now you get to be with me in each second. I acquired this household T, don’t fear. That is for us.”
Nicole Perez was a single mom to a 4-year-old son working exhausting to make life higher for her household when she was killed, based on her employer.
Perez, who was in her late 20s, was lately promoted to supervisor at Kimmy’s Deli in Metairie, Louisiana, and “was actually enthusiastic about it,” deli proprietor Kimberly Usher stated in a cellphone interview with AP. Usher confirmed Perez’s demise by means of her sister, who additionally works for her.
Usher stated Perez would stroll within the morning to the deli, which opened at breakfast time, and would ask numerous questions in regards to the enterprise aspect of the operations. She additionally was permitted to deliver her son, Melo, to work, the place throughout breaks she taught him fundamental studying expertise.
“She was a very good mother,” stated Usher, who began a GoFundMe account to cowl Perez’s burial prices and to assist with bills for her son that “he might want to transition into a brand new residing state of affairs,” the donation request says.
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