Joe Biden was leaving his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware on Sunday evening to his waiting armoured SUV when a silver copper sedan crashed into a US Secret Service vehicle blocking intersections for the president’s exit, US media reported.
Secret Service officers rushed President Joe Biden and his first lady Jill Biden to safety after the car unexpectedly crashed into a parked SUV guarding the presidential motorcade.
The sedan attempted to enter a closed intersection, after which Secret Service agents surrounded the car and ordered the driver to put his hands in the air.
The Secret Service agents quickly escorted Joe Biden to a waiting vehicle where Dr Biden was already seated. They were quickly driven back to the house. Otherwise, the incident had no impact on the president’s schedule. Special Agent Steve Kopec, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said the car that was hit was guarding the route of Mr Biden’s motorcade. Mr Kopek was quoted as saying by NBC News:
“There was no protective interest associated with this event and the President’s motorcade departed without incident.”
The White House press office says the Bidens were spending the night at dinner with members of their campaign team at the Biden-Harris 2024 headquarters in downtown Wilmington at the time of the incident.
The president and first lady left the headquarters for the rainy downtown area around 8:07 p.m., where Dr Biden waved to reporters and wished them “Happy holidays.” Mr Biden faced with a crowd of reporters, one of whom asked why he was not doing well in the polls. He replied:
“They’re the wrong polls.”
At that moment, a silver sedan crashed into the motorcade’s SUV at an intersection opposite the entrance to the campaign headquarters. the White House pool report said:
”There was a loud bang and POTUS [President Of The US] was standing outside the vehicle with a surprised expression on his face. A man walking by loudly said ‘oh my gosh’ when this happened.”
It is not yet known whether the crash was accidental or deliberate and whether the driver was aware that Mr Biden was at the scene before the accident. The man’s identity has not been released.
Meanwhile, the Bidens returned safely to their Delaware home around 8:20 p.m. Wilmington Police Department spokesman David Karas said local police officers are “investigating the vehicle collision.”
