Dunwoody Fourth parade mishap caused by driver switch; 2 arrested

Dunwoody Police body cam shows Fourth parade mishap

Two people have been charged following a crash that injured eight people, including several children, during Dunwoody?s Fourth of July parade.

DUNWOODY, Ga. - Two people have been charged following a crash that injured eight people, including several children, during Dunwoody’s Fourth of July parade.

What we know:

The incident happened around 10:13 a.m. at the intersection of Mount Vernon Road and Dunwoody Village Parkway, when a Ford F-150 Lightning towing a trailer surged forward during a driver switch, hitting a pedestrian and causing the trailer to detach, according to Dunwoody police.

Investigators said 22-year-old Ruby Liversidge of Decatur and 23-year-old Finn Drummond of Alpharetta were attempting to switch drivers while the truck was still in motion and left in drive. Liversidge got behind the wheel and inadvertently pressed the accelerator, police said, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and strike a 22-year-old woman walking in front of it. The woman was knocked to the ground but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

The sudden acceleration also caused the trailer — which was not secured with safety chains and lacked a recovered hitch pin — to detach. Several passengers on the trailer, all part of the same parade group, were thrown into its side railings.

In total, four adults and four children were hurt. Reported injuries included a broken orbital socket, a forehead laceration requiring stitches, and other minor injuries.

Drummond and Liversidge were initially released while investigators interviewed witnesses and assessed the extent of injuries. Arrest warrants were issued once the investigation concluded, and both suspects turned themselves in at the DeKalb County Jail on the morning of July 7.

The group aboard the trailer was affiliated with My Little Gym of Dunwoody, including the driver and passenger.

Police said this wasn’t the only time the two attempted to switch places during the parade. They allegedly performed a similar maneuver earlier in the event, again while the truck was in motion.

Body camera footage captured first responders sprinting down Mount Vernon Road in the moments after the crash to assist the injured. Police say the investigation into the incident is now complete.

No victims remain in critical condition.

What they're saying:

"The male was originally driving, the female was the passenger and they made the switch to the opposite," said Sgt. Michael Cheek of the Dunwoody Police Department. "When the female jumped back into the truck, she mistakenly hit the accelerator, which lunged the truck forward."

"We're not real sure how it became disconnected. I know we never found the hitch pin that we looked for," Cheek said.

"After speaking with numerous witnesses, the drivers and the victims, it was determined there was sufficient probable cause to charge Finn Drummond with reckless driving and Ruby Liversidge with serious injury by vehicle and reckless driving," the Dunwoody Police Department said in a statement.

"This is just poor decision making and negligence on their part is what those traffic charges carry," Cheek said.