Vondra Mack said she and her husband, Joseph Sampson, weren't even supposed to be at the Krewe of Endymion parade Saturday. But plans for a party fell through, and they went to the krewe's route near Canal and Galvez streets in Mid-City.

What was supposed to be another joyous evening for Sampson and Mack as well as friends and loved ones ended in grief when Sampson was hit by a float and killed, leaving his family reeling from the loss of the doting father and grandfather.

"I just really can't believe it happened," Vondra Mack said Sunday. "I never did think it would happen."

+5 Man hit and killed by Endymion float in 2nd 'horrific' accident during Mardi Gras In the second shocking parade-related death of the 2020 Carnival season, a man was hit and killed by a float Saturday night as the Krewe of En…

According to Sampson's daughter-in-law Latasha Green, their family has been trying to process a flurry of conflicting accounts about how he ended up under a passing float.

One they keep hearing is that Sampson, 58, was inadvertently pushed as the surrounding crowd jostled for throws. Green said they also heard Sampson may have simply slipped while reaching out for beads.

"It is something we all know can happen either way (at) Mardi Gras when adults are running up for beads," Green said. "We don't feel it was done on purpose. It was just ... an unfortunate incident."

Green and Sampson's sister-in-law Christell Mack said what was most important now was supporting Vondra Mack, who has lost the man with whom she had spent nearly four decades.

"You see one, you see the other," Christell Mack said of the devoted couple.

Sampson's three children and two grandchildren are also deep in mourning, a devastating process which is only in its earliest stages, Green said.

Green said that going to Carnival parades with his tight-knit social and family circle was one of Sampson's favorite activities. He also regularly participated in the 9 Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club second-line through neighborhoods in the Upper 9th Ward, having done so as recently as last year.

Sampson's nephew, Renell Davis, added that his uncle never lost faith in the New Orleans Saints.

"Everything was about family time," Green said. "He loved his wife. He adored his kids. He enjoyed having a good time.

"He was a loving, hard-working man. We'll miss him."

New Orleans public safety authorities said little about how the deadly accident occurred.

They said only that a man died after falling in an opening between sections of Float No. 14, a tandem float in three sections. The rest of the parade was canceled, with police escorting the trailing floats to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the site of Endymion's post-parade bash.

+5 Tandem floats eliminated from remaining parades after Endymion accident, officials say New Orleans' Mardi Gras krewes will no longer be able to use tandem floats after a man was struck and killed by one during Endymion's 2020 par…

Though people dying from being hit by a parade float are relatively rare, the float — called “Captain S.S. Eddie” and named for krewe founder Ed Muniz — was the same one that struck and killed Endymion rider Jody Compretta, 39, in 2008.

Meanwhile, at Wednesday’s Krewe of Nyx parade, 58-year-old Geraldine Carmouche was also struck and killed by a tandem float.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Saturday night that tandem floats would not be allowed to roll during the final three days of this year’s Mardi Gras celebration. The remaining parades which feature tandem floats all said they would comply with the new restriction.

They also expressed condolences for the families of Carmouche and Sampson.

Cantrell on Sunday said her administration would explore implementing additional safety measures for future parades. Sampson's family members said one they would like to see would involve barricading off the entire parade route.