A vehicle traveling at high speed collided with a gate at the White House, leaving the driver dead, the U.S. Secret Service says.
“Shortly before 10:30 p.m. (1430 GMT) on May 4th,” the vehicle crashed into “an outer perimeter gate on the White House complex,” the federal law enforcement agency said on Sunday in a statement published on X, formerly twitter.
ALSO READ Biden, Trump to face election rematch after securing nominations
ALSO READ Reps to review laws, practices restricting press freedom
“Security protocols were implemented as officers cleared the vehicle,” it said, adding that “there was no threat to the White House.”
Limited traffic closures remain in effect as the agency and the local police department investigate the incident, said Anthony Guglielmi, chief of Communications for the agency, in a post on X.
About White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 when the national capital was moved from Philadelphia. The term “White House” is often used as metonymy for the president and his advisers.
The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the Neoclassical style. Hoban modeled the building on Leinster House in Dublin, a building which today houses the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature.
Construction took place between 1792 and 1800, with an exterior of Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he and architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe added low colonnades on each wing to conceal what then were stables and storage.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by British forces in the burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior.
Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semicircular South Portico in 1824 and the North Portico in 1829.
Xinhua
