Suspected drunken driver arrested after passing Harris' motorcade the wrong way in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way passed within feet of Vice President Kamala Harris' motorcade following a campaign stop this week in Wisconsin.

Harris had just wrapped up a rally in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield on Monday evening when her motorcade passed a car heading the wrong way on Interstate 94 in Milwaukee. Sheriff's deputies trailing the motorcade stopped the vehicle and took the driver, a 55-year-old Milwaukee man, into custody after he performed poorly on field sobriety tests and deputies found an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, Milwaukee County Sheriff's spokesperson James Burnett told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The man allegedly told deputies that he was headed home after a night out and had no idea that he was driving the wrong way on the freeway, Burnett said.

According to an arrest report obtained by WISN-TV, the man told deputies that he didn't remember entering the freeway and didn't have any intention of hurting Harris or anyone connected with her campaign. The AP has requested a copy of the report from the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office was still waiting for the man's blood alcohol test results from the state crime lab on Wednesday morning, Burnett said. The legal limit to drive in Wisconsin is 0.08%. The sheriff's office has recommended prosecutors charge the man with second-degree reckless endangerment and first-offense operating while intoxicated, Burnett said.

The man used an off-ramp to get onto the interstate, Burnett said. It's unclear which interstate access points — if any — were blocked to traffic because of the motorcade, and which law enforcement agency was responsible for closing entrances and exits.

Secret Service Special Agent Joseph Routh confirmed in an email to the AP that the interstate was closed and the man entered from an off-ramp. No vehicles in the motorcade made contact with his car and the motorcade continued to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport without further incident. He said the agency could not disclose details about its motorcade operations and safety procedures.

Burnett and Routh didn’t immediately respond to follow-up messages inquiring about how fast the suspected drunken driver and the motorcade were going when they passed each other.

The incident was the second involving a Harris campaign motorcade in Milwaukee in recent weeks. Press vans following her running mate Tim Walz's motorcade were rear-ended while traveling through the city in September.

Timothy White, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign in Wisconsin, referred questions to the Secret Service.

An image captured from Wisconsin Department of Transportation video shows a suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 94, traveling within feet of Vice President Kamala Harris' motorcade following a campaign stop on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation via AP)

An image captured from Wisconsin Department of Transportation video shows a suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 94, traveling within feet of Vice President Kamala Harris' motorcade following a campaign stop on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation via AP)

An image captured from Wisconsin Department of Transportation video shows a suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 94, traveling within feet of Vice President Kamala Harris' motorcade following a campaign stop on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation via AP)

An image captured from Wisconsin Department of Transportation video shows a suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 94, traveling within feet of Vice President Kamala Harris' motorcade following a campaign stop on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wis. (Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation via AP)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A famous grizzly bear beloved for decades by countless tourists, biologists and professional wildlife photographers in Grand Teton National Park is dead after being struck by a vehicle in western Wyoming.

Grizzly No. 399 died Tuesday night on U.S. Highway 26/89 in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officials said in a statement Wednesday.

At least 28 years old, the bear was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Each spring, wildlife enthusiasts awaited her emergence from her den to see how many cubs she had birthed over the winter.

Named for the identity tag affixed by researchers to her ear, she amazed all by continuing to reproduce into old age. Unlike many grizzly bears, she was often seen near roads in Grand Teton, drawing crowds and traffic jams.

Scientists speculate such behavior kept male grizzlies at a distance so they would not be a threat to her cubs. Some believe male grizzlies kill cubs to bring the mother into heat.

A yearling cub was with the bear when she was struck and though not believed to have been hurt, the cub's whereabouts were unknown, according to the statement.

The driver was unharmed. No further details about the crash were immediately released.

“Wildlife vehicle collisions and conflict are unfortunate. We are thankful the driver is okay and understand the community is saddened to hear that grizzly bear 399 has died,” Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Angi Bruce said in the statement.

News of the bear's death spread quickly on a Facebook page that tracks the sow and other wildlife in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. Several hundred people posted comments calling her a queen, a legend and an ambassador for grizzly bears. They were heartbroken and devastated by her death, calling it a tragic loss. Many expressed concern for her cub.

FILE - Grizzly bear No. 399 and her four cubs cross a road as Cindy Campbell stops traffic in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Nov. 17, 2020. (Ryan Dorgan/Jackson Hole News & Guide via AP, File)

FILE - Grizzly bear 399 and her four cubs feed on a deer carcass on Nov. 17, 2020, in southern Jackson Hole. (Ryan Dorgan/Jackson Hole News & Guide via AP, File)