PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — It was a New Year’s Day tragedy with at least 15 people dead and dozens still in the hospital in New Orleans, and one Norfolk woman who was at her New Orleans hotel when the incident happened said it’s a moment she will not forget.
15 dead, dozens injured after car rams crowd in NOLA
“We heard sirens,” said Norfolk resident Margaret Meyers. “I actually heard, which was very unsettling, a gentleman that was on the street below our hotel and was literally wailing.”
The incident in New Orleans is leaving many on edge, happening during a busy time as the city was set to host college football’s Sugar Bowl. That’s what drew Meyers to New Orleans.
“We actually were on Bourbon Street most of the afternoon yesterday,” Meyers said.
Meyers said she and her friends ended the night early and went back to their hotel less than a mile away from the scene, later awakened by the carnage. Reaction from residents around the nation and Virginia continue to pour in.
“[It’s] definitely sad to see when your going to celebrate something and you see a tragedy like that,” said Chesapeake resident Bita Meas.