Butte Man Hurt At Mardi Gras

Sun., Feb. 15, 1998

Associated Press

Louisiana’s Mardi Gras revelry was officially under way Saturday, and a Montana man was the first parade injury.

The Montanan tried to run between a caravan of floats Friday and was injured when he dashed into the path of a deputy sheriff’s motorcycle, officials said.

The floats for the Atlas parade in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, were being escorted to their staging area about 12:30 p.m. Friday when the accident occurred, said Sgt. Erin Tumminello of the New Orleans Police Department.

The tourist, a 46-year-old Butte resident, crossed the procession at an intersection and maneuvered around float No. 14. But he didn’t see the deputy riding alongside the floats at about 30 mph, police said.

The deputy slammed on his brakes and tried to veer left but hit the man with the bike crash guards.

The Montanan, whose identity was not released, had numerous scrapes and cuts on his head, injuries to his ribs and a broken leg.

The accident worried officers who will be riding alongside floats in the next two weeks.

“There may be a gap between floats, but people just don’t know what’s behind that float,” one motorcycle patrolman said.

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