A tragic incident occurred during a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Louisville, Kentucky, resulting in the death of a local woman who was pulled under a float and crushed amidst a crowd of onlookers.
The accident took place during the 53rd annual parade, with emergency services responding to the scene near Bardstown Road and Grinstead Drive shortly before 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 14. According to reports from WLKY, the call was made following reports of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle.
Officials conducting the initial investigation identified the victim as 50-year-old Joan Pannuti. It appears that Pannuti was walking beside a float when her foot became ensnared, leading her to fall and become trapped beneath the moving vehicle.
The parade, a bustling celebration along Bardstown Road, was abruptly halted as the float came to a stop. Pannuti received immediate first aid on-site before being transported to a nearby hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Footage captured by WDRB depicted the distressing aftermath of the incident, showing the silver truck, adorned with four-leaf clovers, moments after Pannuti was caught beneath the float.
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.
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.”
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.
“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.
