A police motorbike escorting Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in Georgia crashed, causing a brief halt to the procession. A photograph taken by Agence France-Presse’s Saul Loeb showed an individual lying on the ground with visible blood around them, while another person, possibly a police officer, was seen providing assistance.
Kamala Harris’ motorcade was halted by the drama (Image: AFP via Getty)
The extent of the injuries remains unknown.
It is believed that the motorcycle skidded out of control rather than colliding with an object. The motorcade paused for approximately three minutes before continuing its journey, leaving a large white bus from the convoy at the roadside.
The crash occurred at the Veterans Parkway exit on Interstate 516, but the cause is still unclear. Following the incident, Harris and Walz arrived at the Westin Hotel on Hutchinson Island, concluding Wednesday’s bus tour, according to Mirror US.
Police attend to a motorcycle officer that crashed escorting the motorcade (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Prior to the road incident, Harris and Walz had visited Sandfly barbecue in Savannah, where they interacted with the owner, customers, staff, and other locals, reports the Mirror.
According to an email statement, the incident occurred when the officer lost control of his vehicle and crashed onto the pavement. The motorcycle did not collide with another vehicle.
It remains uncertain whether all involved parties are safe.
Recently disclosed documents reveal that during a 2022 motorcade mishap in Washington, D. C., the car carrying Vice President Kamala Harris “became momentarily airborne” after colliding with a high curb. Initially, senior Secret Service officials were misinformed that it was “a mechanical failure.”
US Vice President Kamala Harris exits her motorcade to board Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 18, 2024. Harris is headed to Pennsylvania for a bus tour of campaign stops. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque / POOL / AFP) (Photo by KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The records show that despite the crash, the special agent driving Harris’s 2018 Chevrolet Suburban was exempted from the defensive driving course typically mandated for Secret Service agents involved in accidents with official vehicles.
The head of the agency’s Vice Presidential Protective Division explained in a memo detailing the decision to excuse the agent that the accident only occurred after the driver – who has not been publicly identified – shifted the vehicle into an open traffic lane “to be in the proper motorcade alignment.”
A police motorcycle lays on the ground following a crash escorting the motorcade of Democratic presidential candidate US Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, in Savannah, Georgia, August 28, 2024, as they travel across Georgia for a 2-day campaign bus tour. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“As soon as she manoeuvred to the right, the lane ended and immediately became a high curb,” according to the memo by the official, whose name is redacted. “The limo sustained damage to the right rear of the vehicle. No other property damage was incurred.”
Following a Freedom of Information Act request by NBC News, the Secret Service has released 26 pages of records about the accident on October 3, 2022. The documents reveal that the vehicle was partially airborne during the incident and that the driver’s training requirements were waived.
Democratic presidential candidate US Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, disembark from their campaign bus in Savannah, Georgia (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The data also includes an official accident report with photos showing damage to the right rear quarter panel of the car and internal agency emails sharing media reports about the crash. Vice President Harris, who was transferred to another car and taken to the White House, was unharmed.
