A Mandeville man was supposed to drop off his wife to ride in an Uptown New Orleans Mardi Gras parade, but at the last minute, plans changed. A friend asked him to stay and watch that parade. That decision saved his life.
In this exclusive report, WWL Louisiana’s Meg Farris arranged a surprise reunion between that man and the paradegoers whose quick action returned him home to his family.
It was the Friday night of the Cleopatra parade. Ronnie Lightell’s wife was riding, and he was watching downtown with a longtime Marine Corps buddy, Jules. Then suddenly, the last thing Lightell remembers seeing is the fourth float…