Jimmy Cothran, a witness to the attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, recounted his experience of the event and described what was the “hardest thing” to deal with after the tragedy.
The attack on Bourbon Street early Wednesday left at least 14 dead and dozens injured, according to the FBI. The agency identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbara US citizen from Texas and a military veteran who was inspired by the Islamic State.
“Now there are names and faces of those victims, those innocent people full of life — they’re just gone,” Cothran told “Story“on Thursday.
SUSPECT IN NEW ORLEANS TRUCK ATTACK INSPIRED BY ISLAMIC STATE TERRORIST GROUP
Cothran recounted seeing the bodies of multiple victims. One was Nicole Perez, a 27-year-old mother of a four-year-old boy.
“Ms. Perez was the first body I saw, and I mean, it broke me when they showed that picture of her and her son, because that wasn’t the woman I saw,” Cothran said. “When I looked down and looked up, just the pain and everything she probably went through in those last moments, and then she was alone in the middle of the road.”
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 1: Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work at the scene on Bourbon Street after a New Year’s Eve attack (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
The second victim, Nikyra Dedeaux, was 18 when she was killed high speed truck.
“Nikyra, she was a little to the left of Ms. Perez — a very little girl,” Cothran said, explaining that he saw her dancing and having a good time before the impact.
“She didn’t look human,” Cothran recalled after she was hit.
Cothran also criticized the city’s lack of barriers, arguing that the truck would never have reached that speed if the barriers had been replaced.
“So much could have been better,” he said.
The 2017 barriers were reportedly removed in November as part of a larger safety infrastructure project and the city is in the process of replacing them with new bollards, according to NOLA.com.
Cothran expressed his grief for the victims and shared a message for community recovery from a terrible event.
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“People take so much for granted in terms of how we treat each other,” he said. “I mean, when you have things this heinous and this evil, you can’t let little things dictate a minute of your life when that life might not be there tomorrow or later this evening.”
