SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) - An 8-year-old boy's leg was broken
during a July 4 parade featuring a golf cart decorated as the SUV
that Lizzie Grubman backed into a crowd.
The cart was driven by a firefighter wearing a blond wig to
satirically represent Grubman.
The boy's family has hired lawyer Andrew Siben, who also
represents one of 16 victims of Grubman's crash outside the
Conscience Point Inn in July 2001.
The boy, Nicholas Curcio, was watching the Independence Day
parade in Southampton when he was hit by the cart, which was
dragging a mock corpse and had the words "Blond is Blind" affixed
to it, Siben said.
Siben said the driver was zigzagging in the cart and continued
for 20 yards after hitting the boy, though he turned back and
apologized after he was told what had happened.
"It was simply just a terrible act of negligence and a poor
sense of taste," Siben said. "This was a July 4 celebration and
this idea of a satire of Lizzie Grubman was clearly inappropriate.
There was nothing patriotic about this."
The golf cart was part of a display by the North Sea Fire
Department, which typically prepares elaborate spectacles for the
parade.
In a statement, North Sea Fire Department Chief James Wilson
said, "From the officers and members of the North Sea Fire
Department, our thoughts go out to the Curcio family."
Wilson said the department is investigating the incident
internally. The firefighter, Donald Oliver, did not return calls
seeking comment.
Grubman's spokesman, Dan Klores, said she "feels the whole
thing was in incredibly bad taste."
The celebrity publicist served 37 days in jail after pleading
guilty to assault and leaving the scene of her crash.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
during a July 4 parade featuring a golf cart decorated as the SUV
that Lizzie Grubman backed into a crowd.
The cart was driven by a firefighter wearing a blond wig to
satirically represent Grubman.
The boy's family has hired lawyer Andrew Siben, who also
represents one of 16 victims of Grubman's crash outside the
Conscience Point Inn in July 2001.
The boy, Nicholas Curcio, was watching the Independence Day
parade in Southampton when he was hit by the cart, which was
dragging a mock corpse and had the words "Blond is Blind" affixed
to it, Siben said.
Siben said the driver was zigzagging in the cart and continued
for 20 yards after hitting the boy, though he turned back and
apologized after he was told what had happened.
"It was simply just a terrible act of negligence and a poor
sense of taste," Siben said. "This was a July 4 celebration and
this idea of a satire of Lizzie Grubman was clearly inappropriate.
There was nothing patriotic about this."
The golf cart was part of a display by the North Sea Fire
Department, which typically prepares elaborate spectacles for the
parade.
In a statement, North Sea Fire Department Chief James Wilson
said, "From the officers and members of the North Sea Fire
Department, our thoughts go out to the Curcio family."
Wilson said the department is investigating the incident
internally. The firefighter, Donald Oliver, did not return calls
seeking comment.
Grubman's spokesman, Dan Klores, said she "feels the whole
thing was in incredibly bad taste."
The celebrity publicist served 37 days in jail after pleading
guilty to assault and leaving the scene of her crash.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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