Vehicle plows into crowd on Bourbon St., with 14 fatalities (3 Viewers)

[Madmarsha]

Somebody's saying the truck was going 80. But that seems high for Bourbon. In any event, it crashed at high rate of speed and stopped right before Conti. There's video on X.

So now I have random -- and, of course, specific -- questions about the bollard system. How does it work? How is it maintained? Does NOLA keep up with the maintenance necessary for barricade systems that are designed to be raised and lowered as needed? Was this system being worked on being maintained/upgraded for the upcoming Super Bowl?


This happened right at Royal Sonesta, Rick's Cabaret area. Assuming he came from Canal, that's 3 blocks in.

 

[Sun Wukong]

Somebody's saying the truck was going 80. But that seems high for Bourbon. In any event, it crashed at high rate of speed and stopped right before Conti. There's video on X.

It was an EV. Way faster acceleration.

 

[brandon8283]

Somebody's saying the truck was going 80. But that seems high for Bourbon. In any event, it crashed at high rate of speed and stopped right before Conti. There's video on X.

If you zoom in, you can see it’s actually an F150 Lightning. Those trucks can get up to speed pretty quickly.

 

[efil4stnias]

Is that a flag pole on the back of the truck?

Yes and that is not a jacket.

The flag is just wrapped around

That letter you see, could very well be ISIS.

Internet sleuthing has already discovered this was a Ford EV 150 that was rented on Turo out of Houston.

 

[El Caliente]

They are saying that the truck was a Turo rental.

 

[efil4stnias]

I wonder why they haven’t released the guys identity yet.

It’s a shame they killed him (I mean, good riddance to bad rubbish), but I wish we could have learned his motive.

There is video of NOPD trying to revive him.

 

[El Caliente]

The French Quarter is about to go full pedestrian traffic like Time Square.

 

[Madmarsha]

It was an EV. Way faster acceleration.

Yeah, noticed that. "Lightning" Forgot to mention. So it's a 2022 or newer model.

 

[Brennan77]

The French Quarter is about to go full pedestrian traffic like Time Square.

Bourbon is already pedestrian at that time of night with substantial barriers to prevent cars.

 

[Brennan77]

I wonder why they haven’t released the guys identity yet.

It’s a shame they killed him (I mean, good riddance to bad rubbish), but I wish we could have learned his motive.

If it's terrorism he assuredly communicated that information in other ways. I'm guessing the flag that's covered would make it pretty clear.

 

[El Caliente]

Bourbon is already pedestrian at that time of night with substantial barriers to prevent cars.

I think it’s going to be even harder to get a car into the French Quarter now. Like I said, it’s probably going to turn into a Time Square pedestrian mostly situation.

 

[Arathrael]

Bourbon is already pedestrian at that time of night with substantial barriers to prevent cars.

Was just reading, a reported eyewitness said the proper barriers weren't up:

New Orleans: suspect shot dead by police after at least 10 killed in vehicle attack – latest updates

Attacker’s behavior was ‘very intentional’, say police, as a further 35 people hurt after vehicle drove into crowd in French Quarter

www.theguardian.com

The eyewitness, Jimmy Cothran, who just spoke to CNN and has lived in New Orleans for about 15 years, said he was surprised that metal barriers that are deployed to control crowds at each spring’s Mardi Gras celebrations were not deployed on Bourbon Street during the New Year’s Eve celebrations this year.​

​

He said that only flimsy, orange plastic barriers “that you can push with one finger” were up, not the hydraulic posts that are raised during other large crowd events and, to his knowledge, would have stopped the truck driving the distance and speed it did along the street, running people over.​

​

“Those barricades were not up…they never raised them, that’s how this guy was able to drive down Bourbon so quickly,” he said.​

​

Cothran said he thought there would have been many fewer casualties if the metal barricades had been deployed “because this truck cannot get around those barricades,” he said.​

 

[Madmarsha]

They are saying that the truck was a Turo rental.

I'm guessing from the plates being registered to them?

 

[El Caliente]

Yes and that is not a jacket.

The flag is just wrapped around

That letter you see, could very well be ISIS.

Internet sleuthing has already discovered this was a Ford EV 150 that was rented on Turo out of Houston.

Internet sleuthing is leaving traditional media/reporting in the dust. It’s wild.

(Side note)

Between this vehicle being a Turo rental, and an AirBnB hosting that British woman’s sexual escapade, I wonder if this gives people second thoughts about ride/house sharing.

 

[efil4stnias]

I'm guessing from the plates being registered to them?

Correct and they identified the owner (who rents it out)