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On Sunday night, December 17, United States President Joe Biden went through a rather hair-raising experience, when a sedan plowed into a U.S. Secret Service SUV, part of the president's motorcade in Delaware. The vehicle that was hit was used to close down intersections for the president to leave his 2024 Biden-Harris campaign headquarters.
The incident occurred just as the president was leaving his headquarters. A visibly stunned Biden was ushered into his vehicle by the Secret Service, who also drew guns at the driver of the sedan.
While some netizens speculated whether the whole thing was accidental or not, some still dropped a few jokes, exclaiming that Biden was "stunned" most of the time. One X (formerly Twitter) user commented:
Netizens joke about Joe Biden being "stunned"
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were just leaving the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign headquarters in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, when one of his motorcade vehicles was struck by an oncoming car. A grey Ford sedan with Delaware plates plowed into the side of the black U.S. Secret Service SUV.
The SUV was being used to close off the intersections in order for the president to leave. Jill Biden was already in the car when the incident occurred. The President was reportedly on his way to join her. Joe Biden looked stunned when he heard the noise of the collision and looked over to see what had happened before immediately being ushered into his own vehicle by the U.S. Secret Service.
An AP News report confirmed that the driver of the sedan tried to continue onward to the sealed-off intersection before being stopped by multiple U.S. Secret Service personnel pointing guns at him.
A picture of the confused bearded driver slightly raising up his arms in the confines of his driver's seat while being surrounded by the Secret Service on the outside went viral.
A White House official confirmed to the AFP that both the president and the first lady were uninjured and "fine". The area was immediately evacuated by security personnel. The president left the area and got to his residence by 8:20 pm, without the accident affecting his schedule. A White House Staffer was quoted by AFP as telling the reporters:
"They're evacuating, you guys gotta go."
The video of the crash and Joe Biden's reaction went viral on social media. Users speculated on whether the accident was an intentional security breach or simply a routine crash played up for theatrics. Many also joked about Joe Biden being "stunned" as they thought that he was "stunned" all the time.
Here are a few reactions from @rawsalerts tweet of the viral video:
Steve Kopek, a spokesperson for the Secret Service issued a statement to CNN, confirming that the crash was unintentional and that it was raining heavily at the time:
"Today, at approximately 8:09 p.m., a Secret Service vehicle securing the President’s motorcade route was struck by another vehicle in Wilmington, DE. There was no protective interest associated with this event and the President’s motorcade departed without incident."
The identity of the man involved in the accident was not released by the U.S. Secret Service. As mentioned above, the president and the first lady were not injured and the crash did not affect their schedule.
