At least 28 people got injured when a truck plowed into a crowd of spectators watching the Krewe of Endymion parade, the most popular of numerous Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, on Saturday (25 February). The drunken driver of the pickup truck has been taken into custody.

The driver reportedly hit three other vehicles before striking the crowd, New Orleans police said.

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Michael Harrison, the police chief said: "We suspect that that subject was highly intoxicated." He added that it could be a case of DWI and that there was no indication to suggest that it was an act of terrorism.

The driver was being questioned at the police department's drunken-driving office, Harrison informed.

One of the witnesses told a local TV channel, "I saw the gray truck flying down Carrollton Avenue. He sped up and he lost control and you could see was getting ready to turn and I knew he was going to run into all those people."

Twenty one people were hospitalised, including one New Orleans female police officer. Seven others declined transport, Jeff Selder, city Emergency Services Director said.

The youngest victim is 3-years-old while the oldest are in their 40s, CNN reported.

The FBI in New Orleans said that its agents were "coordinating with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to determine whether a federal violation has occurred."

The Krewe of Endymion parade later continued with little interruption, according to Reuters.