President Joe Biden watched in shock as a car collided with an SUV in his motorcade on Sunday night.
The President and First Lady Jill Biden were leaving their Wilmington, Delaware, campaign headquarters around 8pm on December 17, after sharing a meal with campaign staffers.
A pool of reporters and photographers captured the startling moment as the collision occurred, leading to President Biden being quickly ushered into the back of his armored SUV by Secret Service agents.
Agents were unsure if the crash was part of a deliberate attack.
The collision happened just as President Biden was leaving the building.
The Secret Service, responsible for the president’s safety, appeared equally stunned, taking almost ten seconds to secure President Biden inside the safety of his vehicle.
The car involved in the crash, a silver copper Ford sedan with Delaware plates, struck the side of a black U.S. Secret Service SUV that was shielding the motorcade.
Attempting to continue into a closed-off intersection, the sedan was promptly surrounded by Secret Service personnel with weapons drawn, instructing the driver to raise their hands.
The identity of the driver has not been released. A staffer directed journalists to evacuate the area.
First Lady Jill Biden had been extending holiday greetings to waiting journalists when the collision happened.
Reporters had been questioning President Biden about his low polling numbers when the crash happened. President Biden expressed his surprise with a ‘wow’ before being swiftly rushed to his vehicle as the engine revved, according to NBC. Jill was already in the vehicle, and the couple was driven back to their home without any injuries.
A man passing by loudly exclaimed “oh my gosh” during the incident, as noted in a media pool report from the scene. The president and the first lady arrived at their Delaware home around 8:20 pm.
Despite the unexpected collision, President Biden’s schedule remained unaffected.
Secret Service officials did not immediately comment on the crash, and the cause of the wreck remains unclear.
