Police reported that a driver entered the parade route and struck participants and spectators waiting for the event to begin. Four people, including a 3-year-old child, were hit by the vehicle
Navajo Nation, AZ – A child was killed when an alleged DUI driver struck pedestrians at a Christmas parade on the Navajo Nation on Monday evening.
According to the Navajo Nation police, tha accident took place at around 5:30 p.m. December 22, at the Kayenta Township Christmas Parade route.
Police reported that a driver entered the parade route and struck participants and spectators waiting for the event to begin. Four people, including a 3-year-old child, were hit by the vehicle.
The child was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Family members identified the child as Karson and a GoFundMe has been launched to aid funeral expenses.
Three other individuals were transported to the hospital but specific details on their injuries were not available.
Police arrested the driver, who was suspected of impairment. The charges being faced by the suspect have not been released.
The Navajo police continue to investigate the tragic incident.
Navajo County is the sixth-most populated county in Arizona and contributes to the high number of traffic accidents that result in injuries and fatalities yearly in the state. The state has seen a slight decline in traffic incidents over the past two years, but crash-related fatalities remain high. In 2023, the state recorded 122,247 motor-vehicle crashes resulting in 1,307 deaths, according to reports by AZDOT. In 2024, total crashes dropped to 121,107 and fatalities fell to 1,228 – a 6.1% decrease from the previous year. Despite this modest improvement, serious injuries and fatalities remain near historically high levels, underscoring persistent road-safety challenges. Speeding, impaired driving, and failure to yield continue to be leading contributors to fatal and serious collisions involving pedestrians statewide. While emergency response initiatives and public-awareness campaigns aim to curb these risks, Arizona’s highways and urban roadways still experience a substantial number of severe crashes each year.
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