SUV 'Mowed Down' High School Band Members In Alabama Mardi Gras Parade; 12 Injured

An SUV plowed through a Mardi Gras parade in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Tuesday, just days after a similar incident unfolded in New Orleans.

Twelve Gulf Shores High School band members aged 12 to 17 were injured when they were hit by the vehicle shortly after the parade began on Tuesday morning, according to officials who spoke to Fox News. Three of the victims were in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.

According to the NY Daily News, the vehicle came to a stop on top of several of the students. One bystander said the driver "just mowed them down."

"Right now our thoughts and prayers are with the Gulf Shores High School Family," said Baldwin County Alabama Public Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler. "I want to thank all the EMS and law enforcement professionals who responded and are still assisting families."

The parade was cancelled shortly after the incident. 

The driver of the SUV was a 73-year-old man who appeared to be sober, according to Gulf Shores Police Chief Edward Delmore. 

The man voluntarily gave statements and blood samples to authorities. He has not been named yet, and charges have not been filed against him.

According to Delmore, police are certain that the incident was an accident. 

Witnesses said the man might have been a part of the parade, since the SUV he was driving bore the initials "MOAA," which stands for the Military Officers Association of America.

"This is a parade that has been going on for 39 years — the first parade in Baldwin County," said Gulf Shores spokesman Grant Brown, as the Daily News reported. "These are our children, this is our community, these are our friends, these are our people. To have this happen, it's horrible."

On Saturday, 28 people were injured when a man drove a truck through a Mardi Gras parade in the Big Easy. His blood-alcohol content was almost three times the legal limit, according to CNN.