NEW ORLEANS — Leadership in the Krewe of Endymion on Sunday addressed the float accident that left a man dead and cut the city's largest Mardi Gras parade short the night before.
Officials in the superkrewe gathered at the New Orleans Hilton Hotel Sunday afternoon for a press conference after their parade ended when Float 14 struck and killed 58-year-old Joseph Sampson near the corner of Canal and South Galvez streets in Mid-City.
It was the second death on the parade route this Carnival season. On Wednesday, a 58-year-old woman was hit by a float and died on Magazine Street during the Mystic Krewe of Nyx parade.
Read the Krewe of Endymion's full statement below:
"The Captain, officers and members of the Krewe of Endymion are heartbroken over the unfortunate and tragic accident that occurred during our parade last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sampson family and friends.
We would like to thank the New Orleans Police Department, the Louisiana State Police, Orleans Criminal Sheriff, the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office and all other agencies that assisted us to safely disband the back-half of the parade.
We would also like to ask the Mayor and City Council to form a task force with other carnival organizations to discuss efforts to improve safety at Mardi Gras parades. The Krewe of Endymion has always worked closely with the police and all city agencies to make Mardi Gras a safe and enjoyable event for the public.
Finally, we again express our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to the Sampson family during this very sad time."
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After the accident, city officials announced they were banning tandem floats -- floats with multiple parts connected by hitches -- for the remainder of the 2020 Carnival season.
Both incidents left hundreds of riders with thousands of dollars of throws with no one to throw them to.
On Sunday, the Krewe of Zulu was the latest to announce they will comply with the city's ban on tandem floats. The Krewes of Bacchus, Orpheus and Thoth also announced they will make last-minute changes and split their tandem floats up.
Vondra Mack said she and her husband, Joseph Sampson, weren't even supposed to be at Saturday evening's Krewe of Endymion parade. But plans for a party fell through, and they went to the krewe's route near the corner of Canal and South Galvez streets in Mid-City.
What was supposed to be another joyous evening for Sampson and Mack's friends and loved ones ended in tragedy when Sampson was hit by a float and killed, leaving his family reeling in grief for the doting father and grandfather.
"I just really can't believe it happened," Vondra Mack said Sunday morning. "I never did think it would happen."
According to Sampson's daughter-in-law, Latasha Green, their family has been trying to process a flurry of conflicting accounts about how he ended up under a passing float.
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