Both of Karissa Ball’s thighs were broken when she ran into the road to retrieve candy that had been thrown from one of the floats.
She remains hospitalized at Children’s Hospital and was in critical condition Monday night, according to hospital officials.
“She is not doing good," said her foster grandmother, Willie Mae Ivy, Monday afternoon.
Doctors had planned to perform surgery on Karissa earlier in the day, but decided to wait because she was too weak, Ivy said. She said Karissa has not regained consciousness since the accident occurred about 9:40 a.m. Saturday.
Ivy’s daughter, Patricia Ivy, has been with Karissa at the hospital’s intensive care unit since the accident. She said Karissa suffered internal injuries and that her lungs were badly bruised. Doctors were keeping her unconscious and on a ventilator so her lungs can heal, she said.
“She is still in critical condition, but she’s stable. She was unstable [Sunday]. It was a rough day," Patricia Ivy said. “We’re looking on the bright side of things. We’re hoping for the best, but she is still a sick baby."
Karissa attended the parade with cousins. She was hurt by an 18-wheeler flatbed that was pulling a parade float.
“She was holding one of their hands, but she ran out. They said the driver said he was up so high, that he couldn’t see her," Willie May Ivy said.
She said Karissa, a second-grader at Matthews Elementary, is a sweet, well-behaved girl.
“She likes to help clean, play with her dolls and cook with me," she said. Ivy has custody of Karissa, her two older sisters and another young girl. She has taken care of Karissa since she was 6 months old.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Ken Swindle said he does not expect criminal charges to be filed. He plans to ask the Tuscaloosa City Council to pass an ordinance making it illegal to throw anything from floats during parades.
The University of Alabama issues parade permits that state people cannot throw items from floats. Swindle said that he has changed language in the parade permits that the city issues to contain the same provision.
“We’ve had this problem the 17 years I’ve been chief," he said. “We’ll be able to pull them out of the parade and cite the person in charge of the organization."
Officers had warned people that morning to stop throwing candy and other items from the floats, Swindle said.
The ordinance he proposes would allow people to hand out items from sidewalks only.
