Neilson Rizzuto, 25, pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree vehicular negligent injury and a misdemeanor charge on Friday
The driver of a pickup truck that plowed into a crowd at a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade in February pleaded guilty to 11 felony charges Friday.
Sentencing is set for January 12 for 25-year-old Neilson Rizzuto.
He entered guilty pleas Friday to felony charges of first-degree vehicular negligent injury, plus a misdemeanor charge.
Last month, he had pleaded guilty to 13 misdemeanors in connection with the crash.
Each of the 11 felony counts carries up to five years in prison.
As many as 32 people were reported hurt in the February 25 crash on the route of the Endymion parade.
New Orleans media reported that some victims attended Friday’s hearing and described injuries, including broken bones and lacerations.
Faye Bertrand described physical pain and the emotional toll of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Police respond to the scene were a pickup truck driven by Rizzuto plowed into a Mardi Gras parade last February
She said she was leaving the parade in a car with her family members when Rizzuto rammed them from behind, slamming their car into a utility pole.
‘I blacked out and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital with injuries to my head, my neck, my abdomen, back and my knee. I’m in pain every day. I suffer from insomnia, migraines, and what has been diagnosed as PTSD.
‘It seems like it’s a nightmare on some days,’ said Bertrand, according to an account in The New Orleans Advocate.
More victim impact statements are expected at January’s sentencing.
The truck crashed along the Endymion parade route. At least 32 people were injured in the crash
People walk away from the scene of the crash on February 25. Each of the 11 felony counts against Rizzuto carries up to five years in prison
‘By pleading guilty, he’s accepting full responsibility for all the remaining counts,’ Rizzuto’s defense attorney Nanak Rai told NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune.
The accident came during one of the busiest nights of Mardi Gras when thousands of people throng the streets of Mid-City to watch elaborate floats and clamor to catch beads and trinkets tossed from riders.
Police had said that a breath alcohol test determined that Rizzuto’s alcohol level was three times the legal limit after the he was arrested.
Rizzuto had worked as a bouncer at a daiquiri shop.