An 18-year-old girl dreaming of becoming a nurse, a father of two and a former Princeton football star suffered fatal injuries when the driver of a white pickup truck sped down Bourbon Street, packed with holiday revellers.
New Orleans Coroner Dr Dwight McKenna said in a statement late on Wednesday that they will release the names of the dead once autopsies are complete and they’ve talked with the next of kin. About 30 people were injured.
Zion Parsons of Gulfport, Mississippi, had been celebrating New Year’s Eve at his first night on Bourbon Street when a vehicle appeared and ploughed into his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, who he said had dreamed of becoming a nurse.
“A truck hit the corner and comes barrelling through throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air,” Parsons, 18, told The Associated Press.
“It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive.”
As the crowd scattered in the chaos he ran through a gruesome aftermath of bleeding and maimed victims, hearing gunshots and explosive sounds.
“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” Parsons said.
“People crying on the floor, like brain matter all over the ground. It was just insane, like the closest thing to a war zone that I’ve ever seen.”
Dedeaux was a responsible daughter – shorter than all her siblings but the one who helped take care of everyone, Parsons said.
Dedeaux had a job at a hospital and was set to start college and begin working towards her goal of becoming a registered nurse.
“She had her mindset – she didn’t have everything figured out but she had the plan laid down,” Parsons said.
A 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge was among those killed when a pickup truck careened down Bourbon Street in what officials called an act of terror.
Reggie Hunter had just left work and headed to celebrate New Year’s with a cousin when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com.
Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.
A former high school and college football player from Louisiana was among those who died after a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter, according to an education official.
Tiger Bech, 28, died late on Wednesday morning at a New Orleans hospital, according to local media outlets citing Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette.
Bech attended the high school, where he played wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive back, NOLA.com reported.
Bech’s LinkedIn profile said he played football at Princeton University before graduating in 2021.
Most recently he was working as an investment trader at a New York brokerage firm.
Princeton football coach Bob Surace said on Wednesday that he had been texting with Bech’s father, sharing memories of the player, who was a school kick returner and receiver from 2017 to 2019.
“He might be the first Tiger to ever play for us, and that nickname kind of described him as a competitor,” Surace told ESPN.
The school’s nickname is the Tigers.
“He was somebody that somehow, like in the key moments, just excelled and was full of energy, full of life.”
Bech has been working at Seaport Global, where company spokesperson Lisa Lieberman could not confirm his death.
But she told The Associated Press that “he was extremely well regarded by everybody who knew him”.
Bech’s younger brother, Jack, is a top wide receiver at Texas Christian University.
In a response to a KLFY-TV report posted on X about Tiger Bech’s death, a post from an account for a Jack Bech on the social media site said: “Love you always brother ! You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”
Dozens injured in attack
Families and loved ones of those injured in the attack have also spoken out.
Two 19-year-old women were among those hurt, according to the Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida, from which both women graduated.
Elle Eisele and Steele Idelson graduated from the Canterbury School in 2023 and attend the University of Georgia and San Diego State University, respectively, according to the school.
“The Eisele and Idelson families are deeply grateful for the outpouring of thoughts, prayers, and offers of support for our daughters following the tragic attack in New Orleans,” the school said in a statement on behalf of both families.
“We are especially thankful for the exceptional care and compassion they are receiving at University Medical Centre. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the first responders, whose swift actions may have saved our daughters’ lives.
“To everyone who has reached out with love and support, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
