8-year-old boy identified as 6th fatality in Wisconsin Christmas parade

Dozens of people were hurt in the Sunday afternoon crash.

ByEmily Shapiro and Julia Jacobo
Last Updated: November 24, 2021, 2:18 PM EST

Six people were killed and dozens were hurt when an SUV driver barreled into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The suspect, 39-year-old Darrell Brooks, is in custody, authorities said.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 22, 2021, 11:23 AM EST

Man recounts 'SUV hurtling towards me'

Brayden Kowalski was at the parade in Waukesha, which he described as "a very loving community," when he "saw about a block away, the SUV hurtling towards me."

He pulled his nephews, ages 4 and 6, out of the vehicle's path at the last minute. The SUV was about 5 feet away, Kowalski said.

Crime scene evidence is seen on Main Street the morning after after a car plowed through a holiday parade in Waukesha, Wis., Nov. 22, 2021.
Cheney Orr/Reuters

Kowalski said he "was fear-stricken, but I just, I tried the best I could to help," escorting people from the street over to the sidewalks.

Of the driver, he said, "I don't know if they were targeting people, but they for sure weren't dodging people. "

Nov 22, 2021, 10:55 AM EST

Driver may have been fleeing previous incident

Based on video evidence and interviews, investigators' preliminary assessment is that the driver wasn't aiming at specific parade participants but was speeding through the route to flee an earlier incident, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

PHOTO: A red SUV speeds past attendees moments before plowing into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis., in an image from video, Nov. 21, 2021.
A red SUV speeds past attendees moments before plowing into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis., in an image from video, Nov. 21, 2021.
City Of Waukesha via Reuters

Bloodied fabric circled in spray paint to mark as evidence are seen on Main Street the morning after a car plowed through a holiday parade in Waukesha, Wis., Nov. 22, 2021.
Cheney Orr/Reuters

Authorities scoured social media and other digital platforms associated with the person of interest overnight. At this point authorities have no reason to believe there is any connection to radicalization, extremism or the ongoing debate about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, the sources said.

-ABC News' Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky