Vehicle hits crowd at New Orleans Mardi Gras parade

A vehicle is seen crashed along the Endymion parade route at Orleans and Carollton during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana U.S., February 25, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

(Reuters) - A pickup truck driven by a man who appeared to be "highly intoxicated" plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans on Saturday, sending more than 20 people to the hospital, police said.

The truck, travelling along the side of the street open to traffic along the Mid-City parade route, struck three other vehicles, including a dump truck, before veering onto the median where a crowd of people stood watching the procession, according to New Orleans police.