5-Year-Old Girl Trampled In Rodeo Parade

Rodeo parade spectators in Tucson watched in horror as a 5-year-old girl was thrown off her mount and trampled by an out-of-control team of horses pulling a wagon. She later died.

Police identified the girl as Brielle Boisvert. CBS affiliate KOLD reports that according to Tucson Rodeo Parade rules, no one under the age of eight may ride a horse. However, Rodeo Parade officials admit they do not enforce that rule.

Authorities said Thursday they would determine whether criminal charges were warranted.

Brielle was riding as a member of Sonoita's Rodeo Royalty. She was "Little Miss Sonoita."

A wagon behind the group was reportedly going too fast and ran into Brielle's horse. Her horse buckled, and she was thrown off. The girl was run over by the horses and the wagon behind her.

Friends of Brielle say the young girl was already an accomplished horsewoman, who participated in Junior Rodeo and also performed with her family's band as a singer and fiddle player.

Hundreds of people were within eyesight of the tragedy along the two-mile route of the Tucson Rodeo Parade.

"People were gasping, screaming," said Diane Hebert, who was near the scene of the accident.

"I saw the wagon coming around the corner out of control," said Hebert's husband, Henry. "They hit the horse, her horse flared up and the girl fell off."

The girl died at University Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Darci Slaton said.

Parade spokesman Bob Johnson acknowledged that Brielle was younger than the age limit but said no one monitors the parade to confirm ages.

The accident happened near South Park and West Irvington. The Tucson Police Department is asking the public for videotape of the incident, especially at the moment when the wagon horses were spooked. Police Chief Richard Miranda said investigators were interviewing witnesses and others, including the driver of the wagon.

The event, billed as the world's longest nonmechanized parade, includes horses, marching bands, folk dancers and beauty queens. It is one of the highlights of the 82nd annual La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo, a weeklong event that began Monday featuring more than 700 contestants from across the U.S. and Canada.

The death was the first in the parade's 85-year history, although injuries at the event are not uncommon, Johnson said.

At last year's parade, Mayor Bob Walkup bruised an arm and his wife, Beth, suffered a concussion and whiplash when two runaway horses slammed into the rear of a 150-year-old buggy.