The Secret Service delayed revealing the event due to conflicting information regarding the cause, which has raised questions in the wake of a motorcade mishap involving Vice President Kamala Harris this week.
At 10:20 a.m. on Monday, Harris was traveling to the White House when a single-car collision happened in a tunnel in the Foggy Bottom district of Washington, D.C. She was in a car that ran into a curb, breaking one of the wheels. Although Harris was unharmed, she had to be moved to another vehicle.
According to Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi, “During a protective movement Monday, a vehicle in a motorcade had a small overcorrection and clipped a curb. The motorcade proceeded to its location when the protectee was moved to a backup vehicle. No one suffered any injuries.”
Senior Secret Service officers initially classified the incident as a “mechanical failure,” which Guglielmi’s claim would seem to refute. Additionally, the two-day wait to publicize the accident was unjustified.
Guglielmi claimed that in their initial written notification of the occurrence, the agents engaged in the collision described it as a “mechanical breakdown.”
According to Guglielmi, who spoke to the Post, “early radio communication suggested this was a mechanical issue, and it was relayed to agency leaders by employees assisting the motorcade movement.” Leadership was verbally updated with further vital information that the car had impacted a curb after the protective maneuver was finished.”
According to the Post, Harris and Secret Service officials questioned how highly skilled agents could suffer an accident on such a common trip. The fact that important information was left out of an electronic communication informing top leadership of the situation was possibly even more alarming.
According to a person who spoke to the Washington Post, Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle didn’t find out the truth until late Monday afternoon.
The vice president is appreciative of the Secret Service’s efforts to protect her, according to Harris’ spokesman.
The GW Hatchet stated that the collision happened in the 2300 block of Virginia Ave, where more than ten motorists are said to have collided into a berm that divides a car lane from a new bicycle lane this year. Residents have painted the median and placed cones in key locations, however the site noted that there are no signs alerting drivers to the curb.
