NEW ORLEANS — Authorities are working to ensure the Caesars Superdome is safe for Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl after a man sped a pickup truck into a Bourbon Street crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 30.
The crash happened around 3:15 a.m. CT about a mile from the Superdome, which will host the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame at 7:45 p.m. CT. The team hotels for the Bulldogs and Fighting Irish were within walking distance of the incident.
In a morning briefing with reporters, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said authorities were “going to make sure that our routes and the Superdome are safe today for the game.”
“We do want you to go about the day,” Kirkpatrick said. “Just stay away from Bourbon (Street).”
Kirkpatrick said most of the 30-plus injured people appeared to be locals, not visitors in town for the game or other New Year’s festivities.
“The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a statement Wednesday morning. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available.”
Kirkpatrick said the man drove into the crowded area “hellbent on creating the carnage and damage that he did.” The FBI is leading the investigation.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Matthew Hinton / AFP via Getty Images)
