Christmas parade safety taken for granted, says Raleigh 'Christmas Carol' actor Ira David Wood

Ira David Wood, who launched ‘A Christmas Carol’ in Raleigh back in the 1970s, discussed Saturday’s incident that killed 11-year-old Hailey Brooks.

"It really was a gut punch for so many people who came out on that beautiful day," Wood said.

The runaway truck that killed Brooks stopped just short of Ira Wood’s Theatre in the Park float on Saturday morning.

"It was a horrible tragedy, but it could have been so much worse," Wood said.

That tragedy struck as Wood noticed issues with the float supplied by Shop Local to his "Christmas Carol" castmembers. He witnessed rotten wood, loose seats and by the end of the parade, a flat tire.

"Our float started to wobble," he said. "We almost lost one of the adults."

Wood saying there was no pre-parade inspection of the float to his knowledge is consistent with what other participants told WRAL Investigates. However, parade organizers haven’t yet responded to questions about protocols.

When WRAL Investigates asked Woods if safety had been taken for granted after years with no issues, he was clear, "Hindsight is 20/20. I think we have."

After taking part in close to 40 of these events, Wood believes it’s time to reevaluate parade safety with better vetting of drivers and equipment.

"I think it’s very sad that it takes sometimes a tragedy to make people go you know we should check these things before something else happens," Woods said. "My hope is that we get our heart back, that we get our holiday back, that we get our smiles back."