A deadly accident at the Raleigh Christmas Parade last year is prompting new safety legislation.
House Bill 633, titled the “Shine Like Hailey Parade Safety Act,” calls for larger towns and cities to conduct police inspections of all parade vehicles. And it would require all drivers to be 25 or older.
Trey Brooks is the father of Hailey Brooks, the 11-year-old dancer who was killed by an out-of-control truck when its brakes failed. He says an inspection of the truck would have revealed that its emergency brakes were disconnected.
“If that would have been intact, my daughter probably would still be here today,” Brooks told a House committee, adding that he thinks Hailey’s death was preventable.
“I think we all take for granted when we show up for a parade that basic safety guidance is being followed that’s ensuring the parade and its participants and the spectators,” he said, pointing to federal guidelines for parades. “We learned as a result of this accident that the capital of our state, the city of Raleigh, had very little of these suggestions in practice.”
The Brooks family is working with state lawmakers on the safety bill, and it’s also filed a lawsuit against the 20-year-old truck driver, Landen Glass, the dance studio and the parade organizer.
The bill is moving quickly through House committees without any opposition, with a floor vote possible as early as Wednesday afternoon. An identical bill has been filed in the Senate.
The new regulations would only apply to parades held in cities and towns with populations larger than 35,000. In addition to conducting inspections, the police or fire department overseeing parades would need to verify that all vehicles are registered and insured.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin, said that it will “help make sure that we hopefully never have this ever happen again in one of our parades here in North Carolina.”