Man charged with drunk driving after crashing into Biden's motorcade

[December 19, 2023]  WILMINGTON (Reuters) - A Delaware man has been charged with drunk driving after he plowed his vehicle into U.S. President Joe Biden's motorcade on Sunday night, Wilmington police said on Monday, describing the incident as an "accidental collision."

U.S. President Joe Biden reacts after a vehicle crashed into a Secret Service SUV that was blocking the street as Biden exited his campaign headquarters, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. December 17, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Biden and first lady Jill Biden were getting into their vehicle when the man crashed into a motorcade SUV about 200 feet away from them. Both were unharmed in the incident, which unfolded outside the president's campaign headquarters.

The man, a 46-year-old from Wilmington, was charged with driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and inattentive driving, said David Karas, a spokesman for the Wilmington Police Department.

Police did not identify him by name.

The U.S. Secret Service said "there was no protective interest associated with this event."

Television footage of the incident showed security officers surrounding the man's vehicle after he crashed into one of the motorcade's SUVs. Agents cornered the car, a silver sedan, and pulled weapons on the man, who held his hands up.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Wilmington and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter)

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