A 20-year-old man has died from his injuries after he was pinned under a float at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Montreal.
Police say he was killed after he jumped from a flatbed truck around 2:15 p.m.
Witnesses say he had been riding on the Marianopolis College float. But there are contradicting witness statements about exactly what happened.
Daniel Lacoursiere, a spokesman from the Montreal police department, said the victim leapt from the truck as it stopped during the procession.
It is believed the man then lost his footing on the ground and became trapped when the vehicle began moving again.
Montreal police Const. Anie Lemieux said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
"The information we have is that at one point, he was on the float. It's very early in the investigation to figure out how all this happened. There are a whole bunch of possibilities."
However, police did confirm Sunday evening that alcohol was a factor in the death. The victim is from Laval, Que., and was among two male spectators who jumped onto the float during the parade.
The accident occurred as the men leapt from the float.
Police say the other male is in shock, but that he will be questioned about the incident.
The accident darkened an otherwise festive day, as thousands of locals had poured onto the streets to celebrate the parade, which is in its 186th year.
The parade started at noon and the route ran east along Ste. Catherine Street in the city's downtown.
Police quickly cordoned off the area and moved people away from the scene.
"I saw a person fall off, and I saw (the truck) go over, go up and then down," witness Elizabeth Steinberg told CTV Montreal.
"I saw a hand -- that was it. I was yelling 'Stop the truck! Stop the truck!' I'm shaking right now."
During the 2002 parade, a university student was pinned down by a truck and he sustained serious leg injuries. That year's parade had to be stopped because of the incident.
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