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A Kentucky woman is dead after she was dragged under a float and crushed in front of crowds of revelers during a local St. Patrick’s Day parade over the weekend.
The incident unfolded at the 53rd annual parade in Louisville, when authorities were called to an area near Bardstown Road and Grinstead Drive just before 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, over reports of a woman being struck by a vehicle, according to WLKY.
A preliminary investigation conducted by authorities reportedly revealed the woman, identified as 50-year-old Joan Pannuti, was walking next to a float when her foot became caught, causing her to fall to the ground and get stuck under the vehicle.
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Scenes along the St. Patrick’s Day Parade route on Bardstown Road in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The float immediately stopped and Pannuti was administered first aid before being transported to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Video obtained by WDRB showed the moments immediately after Pannuti was dragged under the float as it was being towed by a silver truck clad in four-leaf clovers.
Good Samaritans were seen rushing to Pannuti’s aid as the group waited for law enforcement to arrive.
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Scenes along the St. Patrick’s Day Parade route on Bardstown Road in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“I seen the EMS attending to somebody… I saw somebody on the stretcher, not thinking it was something very serious,” food vendor David Gnamba told WAVE.
“It does break my heart because that’s a person that lost their life,” Gnamba added. “This is not news that we want to hear – as human beings, as vendors, as people, as partygoers.”
The parade’s organizers, the Hibernian Cultural and Charitable Association, reportedly released a statement expressing their organization is “deeply saddened by the tragic accident.”
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Scenes along the St. Patrick’s Day Parade route on Bardstown Road in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Additionally, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called for prayers for the victim and her loved ones in a social media post.
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“I am so sorry to hear about the tragic accident that took a woman’s life at today’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” Greenberg said. “Please join Rachel and me in keeping her family and friends in your prayers. May her memory be a blessing.”
The Louisville Metro Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
