A police officer has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident while escorting Vice President Kamala Harris through Seattle.
The security detail was driving through Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday afternoon when the motorcycle officer plunged up to 60 feet off a highway ramp, the Bellevue Police Department said in a statement on Twitter.
The unnamed officer, 39, reportedly fell between 50 and 60 feet off the Michigan Street on-ramp and landed in the southbound lanes of I-5.
Police said that he was seriously injured in the incident but was fortunately “conscious and alert” by the time he was transported to Harborview Medical Center.
He was receiving treatment in hospital for his injuries as of Tuesday night.
Meeghan Black, a Bellevue police spokesperson, told The Seattle Times that the officer was lucky that he wasn’t struck by passing vehicles along the highway.
“Somehow, by the grace of God, he was not struck,” she said.
“We are just very, very thankful that he is in as good a condition as he is.”
The I-5 was briefly closed while the officer was treated and taken to hospital.
An investigation into the incident is now being carried out by the Washington State Patrol.
The vice president is currently on a visit to Seattle to mark the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act on Wednesday – a law touted “as the largest investment in clean energy and climate action ever”.
Since the law was passed, the Biden administration says that more than 170,000 clean energy jobs have been created and companies have announced over $110bn in clean energy manufacturing investments.
