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More than 20 people have been injured - a dozen of them critically - after a drunk driver ploughed into a crowd watching a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.

The crash happened at around 6.45pm local time on the route of the Krewe of Endymion parade.

A man driving a grey, 4X4 pick-up truck veered through barriers and into the crowds, it is believed.

Initial accounts suggest the crash did not appear deliberate.

Police said they believe the driver was "intoxicated".

A young man wearing a purple shirt was arrested at the scene and led away in handcuffs.

(Image: mirror.co.uk)

(Image: mirror.co.uk) (Image: mirror.co.uk)

Police said the victims ranged in age from as young as three-years-old to people in their 30s and 40s.

A police officer was also injured.

Two other cars also appeared to have been damaged in the incident.

An eyewitness told WSDU News that the grey pick-up "ricocheted" off a white and black car at around 30mph before ploughing into the crowd.

The witness said: "I seen a bunch of people on the hood of the truck.

"I think there was a police officer pinned underneath.

"He [the driver] hit a white car and took a hard left .

"It happened in seconds."

"We heard impact and people scattered.

"I could see it coming and I couldn’t even say anything fast enough."

Police Superintendent Michael Harrison called the aftermath of the crash an "horrific" scene.

Witness Kourtney McKinnis, 20, said the driver of the truck seemed unaware of what had happened.

"He was just kind of out of it," she told the New Orleans Advocate.