Kamala Harris involved in motorcade accident that caused a mechanical failure to stop

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Kamala Harris involved in motorcade accident that caused a mechanical failure to stop

A spokesman for the agency said on Wednesday night that Vice President Kamala Harris was involved in a motorcade accident that was initially reported to U.S. Secret Service leaders as a mechanical failure.

Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said the accident occurred when the vehicle carrying Harris overcorrected and hit a curb.

During a protective movement Monday, a vehicle in a motorcade had a minor overcorrection and struck a curb, Guglielmi said. The protectee Harris was transferred to a secondary vehicle and the motorcade continued to its destination. There were no injuries to anyone. The Washington Post reported the incident.

Guglielmi said that radio traffic surrounding the incident, which was relayed to agency leaders by personnel supporting the motorcade, initially indicated that a mechanical failure had occurred.

After the protective movement was completed, leadership was verbally updated with additional pertinent facts that the vehicle struck a curb, he said.

Sources familiar with the incident told NBC News that Harris was headed to work at the White House in her motorcade when the vehicle she was riding in clipped a high curb with its back wheel and was disabled.

A stopped motorcade is considered a situation of concern, which is a big no no for us, and Harris was quickly moved to the replacement vehicle. The previous vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, estimated at up to 50 mph on city streets, the source said.

When the motorcade arrived at the White House, the medical office checked out the vice president to make sure she was OK, the source said.

The Vice President sustained no injuries and appreciates the quick response from her USSS detail to get her safely to the White House, Allen said.

The Secret Service has been accused of miscommunication over how it handled internal communications in the past.

The agency was scrutinized for apparently erasing text messages surrounding the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol last year. After the Department of Homeland Security s inspector general launched a probe, senior leadership at the Secret Service confiscated the phones of 24 agents to give them to the watchdog.

Following the motorcade incident, Guglielmi said there would be no disciplinary action.

We are proud of the detail. How they handled this was exactly as they should, he told NBC News.

When asked about past instances where the Secret Service has been placed in the headlines, Guglielmi said: This is not a misconduct issue at all.