A car collided with part of US President Joe Biden’s motorcade in Delaware’s Wilmington on Sunday. The collision occurred as Biden and first lady Jill Biden left an event with campaign staff. Both of them were unharmed, according to news agency Associated Press.
The car, a beige Ford, then tried to continue into a closed-off intersection, before Secret Service personnel surrounded the vehicle with weapons and instructed the driver to put his hands up.
The SUV that was part of President Joe Biden’s motorcade was struck by another vehicle as Biden was walking out of a dinner on Sunday night, according to reporters traveling with the president.
Biden had just finished answering a reporter’s question when the crash occurred, appearing to startle the president. Secret Service agents then walked Biden to his waiting SUV. First lady Jill Biden was already in the vehicle, according to the press pool. The pair had just attended a dinner with staff at his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
Police are looking at whether impairment was a factor in the accident, according to a Wilmington, Delaware, Police spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Biden was rushed into his waiting vehicle, where his wife was already seated.
Reporters, who were questioning Biden minutes ago, were also quickly rounded up by the staff to join the motorcade as it departed.
“They’re evacuating, you guys gotta go,” a staffer told reporters as security personnel secured the area, according to AFP.
A White House official told the news agency that both the president and the first are fine. Further questions were referred to the US Secret Service.
The Secret Service, however, did not immediately comment on the incident, according to the AP.
Last year, a small private aeroplane mistakenly entered restricted airspace near Biden’s Delaware vacation home, prompting a brief evacuation of the president and the first lady.
The Secret Service said that the plane was immediately escorted from the restricted airspace after “mistakenly entering a secured area.”
The White House had said there was no threat to Biden or his family and that precautionary measures were taken. After the situation was assessed, Biden and his wife, Jill, returned to their Rehoboth Beach home.
Federal regulations require pilots to check for flight restrictions along their route before taking off. Still, accidental airspace breaches, particularly around temporary restricted zones, are common.
US military jets and Coast Guard helicopters are often used to intercept any planes that violate the flight restrictions around the president. Intercepted planes are diverted to a nearby airfield where aircrews are interviewed by law enforcement and face potential criminal or civil penalties.
