Motorist dies after crashing into White House gate

For the second time since January, a motorist crashed into the gates of the White House on Saturday.

The driver in Saturday’s case was pronounced dead at the scene after smashing a speeding car into an outer gate of the US president’s home and workplace. Authorities characterized the wreck as “only … a traffic crash” rather than an intentional or politically motivated act.

In a statement posted on X, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said there was “no threat to the White House” and “no threat or public safety implications”.

The presidential and treasury security agency said the crash had occurred shortly before 10.30pm and that unspecified “security protocols were implemented”.

“Security protocols were implemented as officers cleared the vehicle and attempted to render aid to the driver who was discovered deceased,” the Secret Service said.

Officers tried to render aid to the driver, identified by Washington DC police as a male adult. He has not been publicly identified, and the crash is being investigated “only as a traffic crash”.

The crash appears to have occurred about 1,000ft (305 meters) from the White House at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and the south-east corner of the complex, near the Treasury, the Ellipse and the South Lawn.

In January, authorities arrested a driver who crashed a car into an exterior gate of the White House.

The man taken into custody after the crash was believed to have been experiencing mental health issues, according to news reports.

That came a couple of weeks after a Delaware man accidentally crashed his vehicle into president Joe Biden’s motorcade. He was later charged with drunk-driving.

In late May last year, a man driving a U-Haul truck crashed into security barriers around Lafayette Square across the street from the White House. Investigators found the driver had a Nazi flag with him and identified him as Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, Missouri.

Kandula was charged with one federal count of depredation of US property in excess of $1,000.

In 2019, during Donald Trump’s presidency, a driver tried to get into the complex by following an authorized car through a gate. The Secret Service subsequently increased the height of the protective ringfence around the White House from 6ft (1.8m) to 13ft (4m).