Walz unharmed after some of the vehicles near the back of his motorcade crash in Milwaukee

News

Walz unharmed after some of the vehicles near the back of his motorcade crash in Milwaukee

2024-09-03 05:41 Last Updated At：05:52

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Some vans at the back of a motorcade carrying Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz crashed on the highway while heading from the airport to a campaign stop in Milwaukee on Monday, but Walz was unhurt.

President Joe Biden called from Air Force One and spoke to Walz a short time later, as the president was traveling to a separate campaign stop in Pittsburgh with Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris herself was campaigning in Detroit before heading to the joint event later in the day with Biden, and her campaign said that she also spoke with her running mate by phone after the crash.

The Harris campaign said the crash involved vehicles near the rear of the motorcade. Walz, who is also the governor of Minnesota, was riding closer to the front. Images posted on social media showed large passenger vans with crumpled front and backends after the collision, which was said to have occurred on Interstate 794.

The White House said Harris was briefed on the collision and spoke with Walz to check on him and the staff.

Upon arriving at his event, Walz spoke briefly about the crash saying “some of my staff and members of the press that were traveling up with us were involved in a traffic accident on the way here today.”

“We’ve spoken with the staff. I’m relieved to say that with a few minor injuries, everybody’s going to be okay,” Walz said. “President Biden and Vice President Harris called to check in, and we certainly appreciate their concern, and I want to express my sincere thanks to the US Secret Service and all the local first responders for their quick reaction.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash, which occurred shortly before 1 p.m. local time and caused some minor injuries.

A member of the traveling pool staff, who was in a van carrying reporters, had an injured arm and was treated by medics, according to a pool report from a reporter traveling in Walz's motorcade, who wrote that passengers were “violently thrown forward, as our van slammed into the one in front of us and was hit from behind.”

Walz and his motorcade stopped at the hospital a few hours after the crash so he could check on staff members who were involved.

The van carrying the reporters remained pulled over on the side of the road for several minutes afterward.

Some reporters had scrapes and bruises and one had a bloody nose. Another feared having suffered a concussion and was initially looking to be taken to urgent care — but eventually climbed aboard a new van to accompany the rest of the press to the event.

All who wanted to be checked out by paramedics were assessed, according to the pool report.

The crash occurred after Walz and his wife, Gwen, were greeted at the airport by Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin. The trio embraced, chatted and posed for a photo before the motorcade began heading to the event.

Monday's campaign stops marking Labor Day were Walz’s first aboard the Harris-Walz campaign charter aircraft. It bears decals of an American flag, the words Harris-Walz, and “A New Way Forward."

Rising floodwaters trigger evacuations in Czech Republic and Poland

2024-09-15 18:37 Last Updated At：18:41

PRAGUE (AP) — Another night of torrential rains pounding Central Europe forced massive evacuations in the hardest hit areas in the Czech Republic, where floods reached extreme levels on Sunday.

Meteorologists have warned the situation still might get worse as waters in most rivers are rising, the flood wave made its way through the country and more heavy rains could return overnight.

Authorities declared the highest flood warnings in almost 90 places across the country and in two northeastern regions that recorded the biggest rainfall in recent days, including the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

In the city of Opava, up to 10,000 people out of a population of some 56,000 have been asked to leave their homes for higher ground. Rescuers used boats to transport people to safety in a neighborhood flooded by the raging Opava River.

“There’s no reason to wait,” Mayor Tomáš Navrátil told the Czech public radio. He said the situation was worse than during the last devastating floods in 1997, known as the “flood of the century.”

“We have to focus on saving lives,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala told the Czech public television Sunday. His government was to possibly meet Monday to assess the damages.

Thousands of others also were evacuated in the towns of Krnov and Cesky Tesin. The Oder River that flows to Poland was expected to reach extreme levels in the city of Ostrava and later in Bohumin.

Towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local center of Jesenik, were inundated and isolated by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The military sent a helicopter to help with evacuations.

Four people who were swept away by waters were missing, police said.

About 260,000 households were without power Sunday morning in the entire country while traffic was halted on many roads, including the major D1 highway.

A firefighter died after “slipping on stairs” while pumping out a flooded basement in the town of Tulln, the head of the fire department of Lower Austria Dietmar Fahrafellner told reporters on Sunday.

Authorities declared the entire state of Lower Austria a disaster zone. The situation remains tense, especially at the water reservoir of Ottenstein, which is expected to reach its maximum capacity on Sunday.

In Poland, one person was presumed dead in floods in the southwest, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday.

Tusk said the situation was “dramatic” around the town of Klodzko, with some 25,000 residents, located in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.

In Glucholazy, rising waters overflowed a river embankment and flooded streets and houses. Mayor Paweł Szymkowicz said, “we are drowning” and appealed to residents to evacuate to high ground.

Energy supplies and communications were cut off in some flooded areas and regions may resort to using the satellite-based Starlink service, Tusk said.

Several Central European nations have been hit by severe flooding, including Romania, where four people had died, as well as Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary, as a result of a low-pressure system from northern Italy dumping heavy rainfall in the wide region.

The weather change arrived following a hot start to September in the region, including in Romania. Scientists have documented Earth’s hottest summer, breaking a record set just a year ago.

A hotter atmosphere, driven by human-caused climate change, can lead to more intense rainfall.

Associated Press writer Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland and video journalist Philipp-Moritz Jenne in Vienna contributed to this report.

Walz unharmed after some of the vehicles near the back of his motorcade crash in Milwaukee

News

Walz unharmed after some of the vehicles near the back of his motorcade crash in Milwaukee

Next Article

Rising floodwaters trigger evacuations in Czech Republic and Poland

England could be barred from UEFA competitions if new regulator’s powers are not ‘strictly limited’

A least 8 people have died trying to cross the English Channel, French authorities say

A missile fired by Yemen’s rebels lands in Israel and triggers sirens at international airport

Tropical Storm Ileana weakens to a depression

With grief lingering, Blue Jackets GM Waddell places focus on hockey in wake of Gaudreau’s death

Italy’s deputy premier Matteo Salvini faces a potential 6-year prison sentence in migration trial

First Pakistani woman nominated as international cricket umpire