Driver Dead After Crashing Into White House Gate

(RepublicanJournal.org) – As the most prominent building in Washington, D.C., and home to the president, the White House has several security measures in place to prevent a breach. One of those is an external safety gate that keeps would-be intruders or visitors from getting anywhere near the actual residence. A man driving at a high rate of speed crashed into this gate on Saturday, May 4. He died at the scene.

The accident occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, and authorities were called to the scene. While they tried to administer aid to the driver, he died on the scene. The crash took place at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and police shut down 15th Street while they tended to the scene. President Joe Biden was not in the White House at the time of the crash; he was in Delaware.

Secret Service (USSS) spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, about the crash, saying “there was no threat to the White House.” The USSS is investigating but also turned over the fatal death case to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department’s Major Crash Investigations Unit.

Limited traffic closures remain in effect as Secret Service teams, @dcfireems & @DCPoliceDept investigate a fatal vehicle crash that occurred at an exterior perimeter gate by the White House. There is no threat or public safety implications and our preliminary statement is below pic.twitter.com/zGTVDuZV5E

— Anthony Guglielmi (@SecretSvcSpox) May 5, 2024

The MPD said the incident is only being investigated as a crash. The driver was identified on Monday as James Chester Lewis, 57, of Matthews, North Carolina.

Incident: At 10:46pm MPD was called to the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Ave NW for reports of a crash. One adult male was pronounced dead on scene. 1/2

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) May 5, 2024

This isn’t the first time someone has driven into the gates outside the monumental building. In January, a man driving a grey SUV crashed into the same intersection and was taken into custody.

Last May, a man driving a U-Haul truck tried to breach the external perimeter. The resulting investigation uncovered the man was a Hitler enthusiast and said he wanted to kill Biden. Nobody was injured in either of those incidents, and the U-Haul driver did not have any weapons on him at the time of the incident.