The driver who plowed into US President Biden’s motorcade as he left his campaign headquarters in his hometown of Delaware on Sunday night was charged with driving while under the influence, authorities announced Monday.
Who crashed into Biden’s motorcade?
James Cooper, 46, of Wilmington, was taken into custody after his silver sedan smashed into an SUV blocking an intersection, Wilmington Police said.
Cooper was also charged with inattentive driving in addition to the DUI.
Officials said the crash did not appear to be intentional, with Cooper likely unaware that it was Biden’s motorcade that he had struck, according to CNN.
Cooper has since been released from custody and given a summons to appear in court at a later date.
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How the crash happened
The accident occurred just as Biden, 81, was talking to reporters outside his campaign headquarters just after 8 p.m.
A loud bang could be heard, surprising Biden and spurring the Secret Service into action, according to a White House press pool report.
Biden was taken to his vehicle, where first lady Jill Biden was waiting for him, and the couple were quickly driven away from the crash site.
This isn’t the first time Biden’s motorcade has been involved in an accident while the president was in his hometown.
In 2020, the then-President-elect’s motorcade collided with a vehicle while on the road, leaving a state trooper and a 77-year-old woman with minor injuries.
