3 Students Still Hospitalized After Mardi Gras Parade Crash

GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) — Three middle school students remain hospitalized after a sport-utility vehicle plowed into a marching band during a Mardi Gras parade on the Alabama coast.

Gulf Shores city spokesman Grant Brown says nine other band members have been released from hospitals since the crash.

The young musicians were injured Tuesday when an SUV driven by a 73-year-old man in the parade accelerated quickly and struck members of the Gulf Shores High School band from behind.

Police say the driver is cooperating, and there's no indication of drugs or alcohol. Authorities say the crash appears to be accidental, and no charges were filed.

The SUV was decorated with a banner from an area chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. A spokesman says the group extends its prayers to the injured.