A motorcycle crash at the 32nd annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade injured 10 people and involved a traffic officer on Saturday evening. The parade was temporarily paused due to the crash but eventually resumed.
The City of Palm Springs said on Facebook a traffic officer was involved in an “accident” on the parade route around 6 p.m. Everyone who was injured was being treated at local hospitals. Their injuries were not life threatening, the city added.
“We appreciate the community’s support and our thoughts are with the officer, his family and all of those injured today,” the city said.
Palm Springs Police Department spokesperson Gustavo Araiza said the officers were on motorcycles to control traffic, such as ensuring the parade route could travel and people were not on the street. This is the department’s standard protocol for the event. The department’s only submission to the parade was a single vehicle that led the procession, Araiza added.
According to an eyewitness account from a nurse who was attending the parade with her family, an officer lost control of his motorcycle while attempting a trick, and severed his hand in the process. Videos from the scene show an officer performing a “wheelie.” The motorcycle then continued moving into the crowd without him, crashing directly into an elderly couple and injuring several other nearby eventgoers.
Palm Springs Public Information Officer Kitty Alvarado characterized the reports of the wheelie as “a rumor” and said that California Highway Patrol will conduct an investigation.
The 32nd annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade was paused temporarily after a motorcycle crash that injured between six and seven people. According to an eyewitness account from a nurse who happened to be attending the parade with her family, a police officer lost control of his motorcycle while attempting a trick, and severed his hand in the process on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
“We did see him pop a wheelie and all of a sudden he went sideways and skid all the way over there,” eventgoer Veronica Ortiz of Pittsburg, California told The Desert Sun at the scene, “and lost control and let go of the bike and it went straight into the crowd.”
Late Saturday night, Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills posted a statement about the incident to his individual Facebook account, reiterating that it was an “unfortunate accident.”
“I feel terrible about the accident and injuries to the very people we protect. I am deeply concerned and hope for a thorough recovery,” he said in the statement. “… As Chief of Police, I am responsible for this department and the men and women who serve. After we conduct our investigations I will report back to the community. Again, I am truly sorry.”
A Desert Sun photographer on the scene saw six people taken away on stretchers, but all appeared to be alert. Araiza said one of the injured was a child who had “minor to moderate injuries” and was doing OK. He also confirmed that two seniors were injured, but did not know the ages of the other seven people.
The 32nd annual Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade was paused temporarily after a motorcycle crash that injured between six and seven people. According to an eyewitness account from a nurse who happened to be attending the parade with her family, a police officer lost control of his motorcycle while attempting a trick, and severed his hand in the process on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
Another eventgoer standing near the crash noted that the officer was going surprisingly fast before the crash occurred.
“I was telling my partner here that they were going dumbly fast,” witness Byron Ruvalcaba of Riverside said. “There are kids running around … to my eyes, they were going recklessly (fast). My guess is 25 to 35 miles per hour.”
Ruvalcaba was one of the first people to run over to the officer after the crash, and confirmed his hand was severed, causing potentially the most serious of the injuries sustained from the incident. He also saw eventgoers yelling at the officer.
The crash occurred near 288 North Palm Canyon Drive around 6:30 p.m. The California Highway Patrol is requesting both video and images be sent to PSCityGovernmentMedia@palmspringsca.gov, the city said.
Desert Sun news editor Eric Hartley contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Police officer crashes into crowd at Palm Springs holiday parade
