Man dies after crashing car into White House gate

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A driver died after crashing a vehicle into a gate at the White House on Saturday night, authorities said.

The man was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30pm at an outer perimetre gate of the White House complex, the US Secret Service said in a statement.

Security protocols were implemented but there was no threat to the White House, the agency said. The driver was not immediately identified.

The Secret Service will continue to investigate the matter, while turning over the fatal crash portion of the investigation to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, the agency said.

“At this time, the incident is being investigated only as a traffic crash,” law enforcement authorities said in a statement.

The Metropolitan Police Department responded at about 10.45pm to reports that a vehicle “traveling at a high rate of speed” collided with an outer perimeter gate of the White House, Fox News reported.

A man was detained earlier in January near the White House for crashing a vehicle into an exterior gate of the presidential mansion complex.