Police ID man killed in fall from Toronto carnival float
Toronto police have identified the young man who died Saturday night after falling from a float during the parade at the city's Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival.
On Sunday, police confirmed that Rueshad Grant, 18, of Mississauga, was the man who died during the parade
The 18-year-old man was on one of the floats when he slipped and was struck by the float around 8:50 p.m. ET. The parade had ended at 6 p.m., but vehicles were continuing to exit the parade route when the accident occurred.
Police responded to the scene in the Lake Shore Boulevard West and Dowling Avenue area.
The victim was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but died from his injuries.
Police are now in the midst of investigating what happened.
A video posted online appears to show the aftermath of the incident, with people yelling for the float to stop moving. Police want to speak to witnesses.
"If the video is in fact of the float involved, there's got to be thousands of people all around that float," Sgt. Lawrence Zimmerman told The Canadian Press.
"We're just hoping that if someone actually saw what happened, they would contact us."
The head of the festival management committee offered condolences.
"On behalf of the organizers, volunteers and revellers involved in today's Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival parade, we would like to express our heartfelt sympathies to the friends and family of a young man who died in a tragic accident earlier today," said Denise Herrera-Jackson.
"We are deeply saddened by this loss," she said. "The Toronto police are conducting a full and thorough investigation and we will assist them in any way we can."
"I'm personally shocked, but speaking on behalf of the festival, we as a group are mourning the loss of a young man," carnival spokesman Stephen Weir told CBC News.
He said the parade floats travel at "extremely slow speeds."
"They do travel very slowly, but they're very heavy," Weir said, adding, "Safety is a huge part of our pre-parade briefing."
The parade is the highlight of the Caribbean Carnival, which is billed as the biggest cultural festival of its kind in North America.
