In light of Wednesday’s traffic accident involving Sean Medlock and a member of the State Department Diplomatic Security Services, The Daily Caller has compiled a partial list of the most notable traffic accidents involving government security vehicles or motorcades over the last 30 years.
• Nov. 18, 2009: While clearing the roads for Vice President Joe Biden’s scheduled appearance on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” two police cars collided with a livery cab at the intersection of West 49th Street and 10th Avenue. According to the New York Post, two officers and the cab operator were taken to a hospital for treatment of back and neck injuries.
• Nov. 12, 2009: On a return trip from Andrews Air Force Base two Secret Service vehicles from Vice President Joe Biden’s motorcade struck and killed a pedestrian just after crossing the District line into Prince Georges County, MD. Both vehicles were empty of protectees, and it is not known whether they were speeding or if the man was crossing the road illegally.
• Feb. 23, 2008: Hillary Clinton postponed a presidential campaign event after a Dallas motorcycle officer in her motorcade died in a motorcycle crash. Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada Tirado lost control and collided with a concrete barrier on the way to a Clinton rally, and was thrown 20 feet.
• Aug. 28, 2007: In New Mexico motorcycle officer Germain Casey died in a crash while escorting Pres. Bush from a fundraising event for Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, where he raised roughly $400,000 for Domenici’s reelection.
• Nov. 26, 2006: A Honolulu Police Department motorcycle officer with eight years of experience died shortly after an accident that occurred while escorting President George W. Bush across Hickam Air Force Base. Steve Favela, 30, suffered internal injuries when he lost control of his motorcycle in the rain and died one week later in a Honolulu hospital.
• Nov. 9, 1988: Regina Marder, 48, of Rockland County, N.Y., was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Vincent’s Hospital following a collision with a Secret Service vehicle. The Secret Service Cadillac limousine collided with the Marder’s Buick as the couple made a left-hand turn at the intersection of West 30th Street and 12th Avenue in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Michael Marder, 50, survived the accident and was listed in critical condition.
• March 6, 1983: Three Secret Service agents died and two police officers were injured near Yosemite National Park when a Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office police cruiser collided with two Secret Service vehicles. The vehicles were traveling from Castle Air Force Base to provide protection services for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, who were visiting Yosemite. The Mariposa cruiser sideswiped one Secret Service car before colliding head-on with the second car.
• Dec. 2, 1980: A station wagon carrying Secret Service agents rear-ended the car carrying President-elect Ronald Reagan when Reagan’s driver stopped abruptly at a red light. No one was injured in the accident, which occurred a few miles from Reagan’s home in the Palisades as he was being escorted to a dentist appointment on San Vincente Boulevard. Secret Service spokesman Larry Schief told the New York Times that the fender bender was due to “to a brake problem” on the Secret Service station wagon.