Tyler Burt knows the streets of the French Quarter like the back of his hand. A graduate student at Loyola University by day and a pedicab driver by night, the California native moved to New Orleans just over a year and a half ago.
New Year’s Eve had been a long day for Tyler. He started his shift at 10 a.m. and worked through the revelry of the night, aiming to finish by 3:30 a.m.
His last fare was a short ride — a young woman and her sister, whose parents had flagged him down on Bienville Street. The woman, tired and nursing aching feet after a night of walking through the French Quarter, needed a quick lift. Tyler took them just three blocks back to the start of Bourbon, near Canal Street.
Bourbon Street, a neon-lit artery of nightlife, was partially barricaded that night. The hydraulic bollards intended to block off the street weren’t functional, so police parked a cruiser as a barricade.
Tyler had just completed his transaction at 3:16 a.m. when a white Ford pickup truck sped around the police barricade. The father of his passenger, who moments earlier had shared a high-five with Tyler, was struck by the vehicle.
“He was run over while I was still in contact with him,” Tyler said. “I just remember him going under the vehicle. I think I even reached for him.”
But this was no accident. The FBI says the driver of the truck, Texas resident and Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, intentionally drove his truck around barricades and onto the sidewalk as a premeditated "act of terror."
He acted alone, aiming to do as much damage as possible, killing 14 and injuring 35 before crashing the truck and getting into a shootout with responding police. He shot two officers before being shot and killed by police — ending the rampage.
As the carnage ensued, Tyler turned to see bodies flying into the air as the truck plowed down the crowded street. He grabbed a shaken coworker and moved them to safety. Police swarmed the scene, sirens overwhelming the chaos.
“At that point, I was just trying to take care of my friend,” he said.