Toddler dies in parade float accident

July 4, 2001 Posted: 3:22 PM EDT (1922 GMT)

DOUGLASVILLE, Georgia (AP) -- A 2-year-old boy slipped from a float and was crushed to death Wednesday as he rode in an annual Fourth of July parade in Douglasville, Georgia.

Cole Sweat of Villa Rica was riding with his grandparents when he slipped and was crushed under the float's trailer. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, Douglas County Coroner Randy Daniel said.

The parade was halted after the accident.

"It's just an unfortunate accident. It's something that everybody's grieving over," said Daniel, who also was riding in the parade. "The (paramedics) worked just as hard as they could to save the boy's life, but it just couldn't be done."

The boy's body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for an autopsy, but police are considering the death an accident, Daniel said.