Five dead, more than 40 injured in Wisconsin parade accident

An SUV cut short a Christmas parade in Wisconsin, killing five and injuring scores. [Courtesy]

Five people have succumbed and over 40 others injured after a car ploughed into a parade in Wisconsin, police say.

Viral footage posted online shows a red sports utility vehicle (SUV) driving through a Christmas parade in the city of Waukesha, west of Milwaukee, at around 16:40 local time.

Police chief Dan Thompson said the SUV car hit dozens of people at the parade including children.

BBC reports a local resident, Angelito Tenorio saying he had just finished marching in the parade when the incident occurred.

"We saw an SUV... just put the pedal to the metal and just zooming full speed along the parade route. And then we heard a loud bang, and just deafening cries and screams from people who are struck by the vehicle," BBC reports.

Chief Thompson said officers had recovered a suspect vehicle and a person of interest was in custody, but gave no further details. He added the investigation was "very fluid".

Fire chief Steven Howard told the press that his department had taken 11 adults and 12 children to nearby hospitals after the incident. 

One person is in custody. The incident does not appear to be an act of terrorism at this time, officials say.

The suspect appeared to have been fleeing another scene when he ran into people at the parade, a law enforcement official familiar with the early findings of the investigation told the BBC's US partner CBS News.