A suspected drunken driver narrowly avoided collision with Vice President Kamala Harris’s motorcade after a campaign event in Wisconsin earlier this week.
The incident occurred Monday evening as Harris was leaving a rally in Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee.
While traveling eastbound on Interstate 94, the motorcade passed a vehicle traveling the wrong way, according to Milwaukee County Sheriff’s spokesperson James Burnett.
Burnett said sheriff’s deputies, who were following the motorcade, stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, a 55-year-old Milwaukee man. He failed field sobriety tests and had an open container of alcohol in his car.
The driver allegedly told deputies he was unaware he was driving in the wrong direction and was simply heading home after a night out, Burnett said.
As of Wednesday morning, authorities were awaiting the results of the man’s blood alcohol test from the state crime lab. The legal blood alcohol limit for driving in Wisconsin is 0.08 percent. Prosecutors have been recommended to charge the man with second-degree reckless endangerment and first offense operating while intoxicated, according to Burnett.
He noted that the driver had used an off-ramp to access the interstate. It was unclear which access points were closed due to the motorcade and which law enforcement agency was responsible for managing such closures.
Secret Service Special Agent Joseph Routh told NTD, a sister outlet of The Epoch Times, via email that the interstate was closed at the time and that the driver entered from an off-ramp.
He said no vehicles in the motorcade were impacted by the suspect’s car and Harris’s entourage was able to make it to the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport without any issues.
“While this was a local matter, we greatly appreciate the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office for its swift response and resolution,” Routh said.
He declined to provide specific details about motorcade operations and safety measures.
“Our agents are highly trained and adept at maneuvering against any hazards they may encounter during a protectee’s movement. The incident in Milwaukee did not compromise the integrity of our protective movements,” he said.
This incident marks the second time in recent weeks that a Harris campaign motorcade has faced issues in Milwaukee. In September, press vans accompanying her running mate Tim Walz’s motorcade were rear-ended while traveling through the city.
Timothy White, a spokesperson for Harris’s campaign in Wisconsin, directed inquiries to the Secret Service for further comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
