Vice President Kamala Harris was in a one-vehicle car crash in Washington, D.C., on Monday morning as she made her way to the White House, the Washington Post reports.
The Secret Service agents initially mischaracterized the accident as a “mechanical failure” to senior leadership. However, the crash occurred after the agent driving VP Harris struck the curb of a downtown tunnel.
The impact was strong enough that the tire of the sports utility vehicle had to be replaced and the vice president transferred into another car. Harris was unharmed in the crash. However, the incident has reportedly caused concern because, following the crash, agents initially withheld key details from senior leadership. According to the Washington Post, the concern stems from the agency’s long history of covering up its own mistakes and misconduct.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the driver overcorrected while steering, which caused the accident. “During a protective movement Monday, a vehicle in a motorcade had a minor overcorrection and struck a curb,” he said. “The protectee was transferred to a secondary vehicle, and the motorcade continued to its destination. There were no injuries to anyone.”
He said that while agents did not initially provide complete details about what caused the problem in the vice president’s vehicle in the formal written alert, they briefed their superiors in person.
“Initial radio traffic indicated this was a mechanical failure, and that was communicated to agency leadership by personnel supporting the motorcade movement,” he said. “After the protective movement was completed, leadership was verbally updated with additional
pertinent facts that the vehicle struck a curb.”
A spokeswoman for the vice president said Harris provided the following update after the crash. “The Vice President sustained no injuries and appreciates the quick response by her USSS detail to get her to the White House safely,” Kirsten Allen told the Post.
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