Driver Crashes Into Funeral Procession for Orlando Victim

Two sheriff's deputies escorting the procession were hospitalized
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2016 2:55 PM CDT
Driver Crashes Into Funeral Procession for Orlando Victim
Supporters at the funeral service for Christopher Leinonen, one of the victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting on Saturday. Elsewhere on Saturday, a woman drove through a funeral procession for one of the Pulse victims, injuring two deputies.   (AP Photo/John Raoux)

An "impatient driver" drove through the funeral procession for one of the Orlando massacre victims Saturday in Florida, injuring two sheriff's deputies, NBC News reports. The female driver "for whatever reason, refused to wait," WFTV quotes an Osceola County Sheriff's Office release as saying. ABC News reports the procession was traveling through Kissimmee, about 20 miles outside Orlando, with a full police escort. The driver was pulling out of a side street when she hit two deputies riding motorcycles, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The deputies were both hospitalized in stable condition. The woman driving the car was "distraught" and asked to be taken to the hospital though she didn't appear injured. The sheriff's office believes the crash wasn't intentional, and the driver likely wasn't paying attention. Charges against her are pending. Officials did not name which of the 49 victims of last Saturday's shooting at Pulse nightclub was being memorialized with the funeral procession. (More Pulse Orlando shooting stories.)

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