Aspiring nurse, football star, single mother and father-of-two among those killed in New Orleans

New Orleans: A teenager dreaming of becoming a nurse, a single mother, a father-of-two and a former Princeton football star were among those killed when the driver of a white pick-up truck sped along Bourbon Street, which was packed with holiday revellers early on Wednesday morning.

Officials have not yet released the names of the 15 people killed in the New Orleans New Year’s Day terror attack, but their families and friends have started sharing their stories. New Orleans Coroner Dr Dwight McKenna said in a statement late on Wednesday that his office would release the names of the dead once autopsies were complete and they had spoken to the next of kin.

Nikyra Dedeaux (top left), Reggie Hunter (top right), Tiger Bech (bottom left) and Nicole Perez (bottom left) were among those killed in the New Orleans attack.

Nikyra Dedeaux

Zion Parsons of Gulfport, Mississippi, had been celebrating New Year’s Eve at his first night on Bourbon Street when a vehicle appeared and ploughed into his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, who he said had dreamt of becoming a nurse.

“A truck hit the corner and comes barrelling through throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air,” Parsons, 18, told The Associated Press. “It hit her and flung her like at least 30 feet and I was just lucky to be alive.”

As the crowd scattered in the chaos, Parsons said he ran through a gruesome aftermath of bleeding and maimed victims, hearing gunshots and explosive sounds.

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” he said. “People crying on the floor, like brain matter all over the ground. It was just insane, like the closest thing to a war zone that I’ve ever seen.”

Dedeaux was a responsible daughter – shorter than all her siblings but the one who helped take care of everyone, Parsons said. She had a job at a hospital and was set to start college and begin working towards her goal of becoming a registered nurse.

“She had her mind set – she didn’t have everything figured out but she had the plan laid down,” Parsons said.

Reggie Hunter

Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father-of-two from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had just left work and headed to celebrate New Year’s with a cousin when the attack happened, his first cousin, Shirell Jackson, told news outlet Nola.com. Hunter was killed and his cousin was injured, Jackson said.

Tiger Bech

A former high school and college football player from Louisiana was among those who died, according to an education official.

Tiger Bech, 27, died late on Wednesday morning at a New Orleans hospital, according to local media outlets citing Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette. Bech attended the high school, where he played as a wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and defensive back, Nola.com reported.

Bech’s LinkedIn profile said he played football at Princeton University before graduating in 2021. Most recently he was working as an investment trader at a New York brokerage firm.

Princeton football coach Bob Surace said on Wednesday that he had been texting with Bech’s father, sharing memories of the player, who was a kick returner and receiver at the school from 2017 to 2019.

“He might be the first Tiger to ever play for us, and that nickname kind of described him as a competitor,” Surace told ESPN. The school’s nickname is the Tigers. “He was somebody that somehow, like in the key moments, just excelled and was full of energy, full of life.”

Bech had been working at Seaport Global, where company spokeswoman Lisa Lieberman could not confirm his death. But she told The Associated Press that “he was extremely well regarded by everybody who knew him”.

Bech’s younger brother, Jack, is a top wide receiver at Texas Christian University.

In a response to a KLFY-TV report posted on X about Bech’s death, a post from an account for a Jack Bech said: “Love you always brother! You inspired me everyday now you get to be with me in every moment. I got this family T, don’t worry. This is for us.”

Nicole Perez

A single mother to a four-year-old son was working hard to make life better for her family, according to her employer.

Nicole Perez, who was in her late 20s, was recently promoted to manager at Kimmy’s Deli in Metairie, Louisiana, and “was really excited about it”, deli owner Kimberly Usher said in a phone interview with AP. Usher confirmed Perez’s death through her sister, who also works at the deli.

Usher said Perez would walk in the morning to the deli, which opened at breakfast time, and would ask lots of questions about the business side of the operations. She was permitted to bring her son, Melo, to work, where during breaks she taught him basic learning skills.

“She was a really good mom,” said Usher, who started a GoFundMe account to cover Perez’s burial costs and to help with expenses for her son that “he will need to transition into a new living situation”, the donation request says.

AP

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