Who Is James Cooper? Who Crashed Into Biden’s Delaware Motorcade

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A man who crashed into a parked SUV that was guarding President Joe Biden’s motorcade in Wilmington, Del., over the weekend was driving while drunk, police said.

James Cooper, 46, of Wilmington was arrested and charged with driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and inattentive driving, Wilmington Police revealed on Monday.

The crash occurred Sunday night.

Biden was walking from his campaign office in Wilmington to his waiting armored SUV when a sedan struck a U.S. Secret Service vehicle that was being used to seal off the area surrounding the headquarters for the president’s visit. The driver, who investigators identified as Cooper, then tried to continue forward into the closed-off intersection, before Secret Service agents surrounded the vehicle with weapons drawn and instructed the driver to put his hands up.

A loud bang and sound of crunching metal echoed on the quiet street as Biden paused and looked over toward the sound, surprised, before he was ushered into the vehicle. Jill Biden was already seated inside, and the two were driven swiftly back to their home. His schedule was otherwise unaffected by the incident.

Neither the president nor the first lady were injured during the incident.

Investigators determined the crash was accidental.

Steve Kopek, a U.S. Secret Service spokesman, said the president’s motorcade departed without incident and the driver was not considered a serious threat to the president.

Cooper was released from custody pending further court proceedings. NBC10 reached out to Cooper on Monday. We have not yet heard back from him.

Last year, a small private aeroplane mistakenly entered restricted airspace near Biden’s Delaware vacation home, prompting a brief evacuation of the president and the first lady.

The Secret Service said that the plane was immediately escorted from the restricted airspace after “mistakenly entering a secured area.”

The White House had said there was no threat to Biden or his family and that precautionary measures were taken. After the situation was assessed, Biden and his wife, Jill, returned to their Rehoboth Beach home.

Federal regulations require pilots to check for flight restrictions along their route before taking off. Still, accidental airspace breaches, particularly around temporary restricted zones, are common.

US military jets and Coast Guard helicopters are often used to intercept any planes that violate the flight restrictions around the president. Intercepted planes are diverted to a nearby airfield where aircrews are interviewed by law enforcement and face potential criminal or civil penalties.

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