Ten people were injured Saturday night when a motorcycle police officer crashed his bicycle into a crowd of revelers gathered for the annual holiday parade in Palm Springs, the city said.
Officials said the accident happened just after 6 p.m. along the Festival of Lights Parade route at Palm Canyon Drive and Amado Road. Officials said the officer, whose identity was not released, and nine others were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital.
Palm Springs Police Department spokesman Lt. Gustavo Arraiza said he had no further information about the incident other than that the officer “eventually lost control” and walked into the crowd. The California Highway Patrol is investigating.
“Officers at the scene received different statements from different people and we will conduct a follow-up investigation to determine what caused the loss of control,” Araiza said of the motorcycle officer.
Witnesses told the Times that a police officer lost control of his motorcycle while doing a wheelie and plowed into the crowd, injuring a participant. Palm Desert resident Brenda Taylor, whose daughter was in the parade, said she and her son were among the few injured.
The motorcycle officer was traveling so fast on the road that “I didn’t feel safe before anything happened,” Taylor said. There was no one to contain the crowd and no barriers, she said.
“It was a disaster,” she said.
Among the injured was a boy who lost consciousness. People were trying to keep him conscious, Taylor said. She said the officer on the motorcycle had a badly injured hand that appeared to be severed.
Video taken shortly before the accident showed motorcycle officers riding along the parade route. Video shows one vehicle appears to accelerate on the route before crashing near a crowd.
Officials are asking anyone with videos or photos of the crash to send them to PSCityGovernmentMedia@palmspringsca.gov.
Organizers estimate the Festival of Lights Parade draws about 100,000 people to Palm Springs each year.
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