Joe Biden's motorcade hit by car outside Wilmington headquarters. Here's what we know.

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A car plowed into a parked SUV that was shielding President Joe Biden’s motorcade while the president and first lady Jill Biden were exiting his campaign headquarters in Wilmington on Sunday night.

Here's what we know so far:

Car crash near Biden Wilmington headquarters

The security breach happened just after 8 p.m. when Biden and the first lady were leaving the Biden-Harris 2024 headquarters in Wilmington.

Reporters traveling with the Bidens said the first lady had just said “happy holidays” to reporters and gotten into a presidential vehicle. Moments after the president responded to a question from reporters, a silver copper sedan with Delaware plates hit an SUV that appeared to be guarding the president’s motorcade.

U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Special Agent Steve Kopek said there "was no protective interest associated with this event" and that the president's motorcade left without issue.

Members of the US Secret Service rush to a car, after it hit a motorcade SUV, as U.S. president Joe Biden was leaving his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware on December 17, 2023. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
Members of the US Secret Service rush to a car, after it hit a motorcade SUV, as U.S. president Joe Biden was leaving his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware on December 17, 2023. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

Has anyone been charged?

Yes. Wilmington Police charged a 46-year-old Wilmington man with driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and inattentive driving. The spokesperson for the department noted that investigators determined this was an "accidental collision."

Was Biden hurt in the accident?

Neither the president nor the first lady was injured.

President Joe Biden reacts after hearing a loud bang as he leaves his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. A car plowed into a parked SUV that was part of Biden's motorcade Sunday night while the president was leaving a visit to his campaign headquarters. The president and first lady Jill Biden were unharmed. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Secret Service reaction to Biden motorcade being hit

Agents quickly cornered the sedan and pulled their weapons on the driver, who held up his hands while the press was escorted back to their van.

Biden was ushered into his vehicle. The motorcade left the scene at 8:09 p.m. and arrived back at Biden’s residence 11 minutes later.

Where is the Biden campaign headquarters?

The accident took place outside Biden's campaign headquarters, which is located in downtown Wilmington.

So far into his presidency, Biden regularly travels home to visit his grandchildren in Wilmington or to his oceanfront home near Rehoboth Beach.

Timeline of the accident involving the Biden motorcade

Moment by moment breakdown as seen from pool video and reports from press assembled at the corner of Delaware Avenue and North West Street to document the president's departure after meeting with campaign staffers in downtown Wilmington on Sunday evening:

  • The president emerges from 1000 N. West Street (the Brandywine Building) facing HB DuPont Plaza after meeting with campaign staffers at his 2024 national presidential campaign headquarters.

  • Biden walks across the sidewalk toward his motorcade where his wife is already in a SUV in the convoy arrayed along North West Street and Delaware Avenue.

  • He stops to consider and answer a question shouted by a pool reporter.

  • A crash is heard off camera. The president and Secret Service members pause to consider the source. About four seconds pass before the president is ushered to his waiting SUV.

  • The pool media is directed back to their place in the rear of the motorcade, as they pass video shows Secret Service agents detaining the driver of a car that was apparently traveling on the one-way North West Street and entered the intersection of Delaware Avenue and North West Street where it struck a vehicle that was part of the president's security.

  • Off camera, the motorcade departed and arrived at the Biden home in Greenville without incident.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Joe Biden car crash: President's motorcade hit outside Wilmington HQ