US President Joe Biden was left in shock as he left his campaign headquarters in Delaware when one car collided with another within his convoy, prompting the Secret Service to spring into action and move Biden away from the scene.
Following the sound of the crash caused by a passenger car colliding with a parked SUV at a nearby intersection about 40 meters from Biden, security personnel surrounded the president and ushered him into another waiting vehicle.
He was then transported away from the building located in downtown Wilmington, according to Agence France-Presse.
“Both the president and first lady are fine,” a White House official told an AFP reporter who witnessed the incident.
“Today, at approximately 8:09 pm (0109 GMT), a Secret Service vehicle securing the president’s motorcade route was struck by another vehicle in Wilmington,” Secret Service spokesperson Special Agent Steve Kopek said.
“There was no protective interest associated with this event and the president’s motorcade departed without incident,” he added.
A group of reporters who had gathered outside the campaign headquarters, where Biden and First Lady Jill had just finished having dinner with employees, witnessed the president’s astonishment when he heard the collision.
The president’s security detail rushed towards the silver-colored car responsible for the accident, bearing Delaware license plates. They drew their weapons in the direction of the driver, who raised his hands in surrender.
“They’re evacuating, you guys gotta go,” a staffer told reporters as security personnel secured the area.
