A suspected drunk driver recently encountered Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade while traveling in the wrong direction during a campaign tour in Wisconsin. This event took place shortly after Harris concluded a rally in Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee, on Monday evening. The driver, a 55-year-old man from Milwaukee, approached the motorcade on Interstate 94, prompting sheriffs who were escorting Harris to intervene. They stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver after he exhibited poor performance on sobriety tests and authorities discovered an open alcohol container within the car, according to James Burnett, a spokesperson for the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department.
The suspect reportedly claimed to deputies that he was on his way home from a night out and was unaware that he had entered the freeway incorrectly. He expressed no intention of harming Harris or her campaign associates, as detailed in an arrest report that WISN-TV managed to acquire. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office has been asked for a copy of this report for further details.
As of Wednesday morning, the sheriff’s office was still waiting on blood alcohol content test results from the state crime lab. In Wisconsin, the legal blood alcohol limit for driving is set at 0.08 percent. Burnett noted that authorities are advising prosecutors to file charges against the man for second-degree reckless endangerment as well as first-offense operating while intoxicated.
The suspect accessed the interstate via an off-ramp, but it remains unclear whether any on-ramps or off-ramps were closed due to the motorcade, or which law enforcement agency managed the traffic control during this event. The U.S. Secret Service has not provided any comments about the incident as of Wednesday.
Additional inquiries made to Burnett regarding the speeds of both the suspected drunk driver and the motorcade at the time of their encounter have not received responses. This event marks the second occurrence involving a Harris campaign motorcade in Milwaukee within a few short weeks. In a previous incident in September, vans following Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, were rear-ended while navigating through the city.