Boy’s death at Preeceville parade an ‘extreme tragedy’
Family members of a Prince Albert, Sask., boy who was killed by a parade float in Preeceville say they are shocked by what they call an “extreme tragedy.”
The eight-year-old boy died on Saturday afternoon after he jumped off the front end of the float — a trailer being pulled by a pickup truck — and was run over.
The incident took place on the Preeceville School grounds, near the end of a parade to celebrate the town’s 100th anniversary.
“It was an extreme tragedy. I guess it affected the whole family and the community very deeply,” Colin Korney, the boy’s uncle, told CBC News on Monday.
Korney said he will remember the child as a happy boy.
RCMP did not release the deceased boy’s name. Reports originally said he was seven years old, but on Monday police said he had celebrated his eighth birthday on Thursday.
The boy was on the float with three adults during the parade. As the event was wrapping up, he jumped off the float as it was moving very slowly, according to police.
Two nurses from a nearby float tried to help the boy. He was taken to hospital in Preeceville, where he died a short time later.
RCMP say foul play is not suspected in the child’s death, but officers have seized both the trailer and the truck as part of their investigation.
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