Fourth of July takes a dark turn in Bangor, Maine
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In a strange chain of events, the Fourth of July celebration in Bangor, Me., took a tragic turn after one man fired dozens of shots at police, resulting in a four-hour standoff, Boston.com reported. The standoff forced officials to reroute the holiday parade -- later, a man participating in the parade was killed in a freak accident.
Police arrested the suspect in the standoff; he was described as despondent. He was arrested at his home, which is where the parade typically ends, the website reported. No one was injured in the standoff and the man was transported to jail. It was reported that the suspect fired about 40 rounds of ammunition, police told Boston.com.
Shortly after the man was arrested, a fatal accident happened during the parade. Police said that a man driving a tractor was struck from behind by an antique fire truck.
The Bangor Daily News reported that riders in the fire truck said it lost control before it struck the tractor. When it struck the tractor, the driver fell out of his seat.
“It rear-ended the tractor and the driver was not expecting it,” Tammy Haskell told the paper. “I saw the driver flying through the air. The tractor rolled onto him and the truck” hit him.
“I saw the tractor tip over by the truck and somebody was underneath it,” said witness John Bunker, 27, of Bangor. “I heard people screaming, people saying to stop the truck. Then I heard over a loudspeaker somebody saying to clear the area.”