Authorities characterized the wreck as “only … a traffic crash” rather than an intentional, politically motivated act.

A driver died after smashing a speeding car into an outer perimetre gate of the White House complex, and the incident late Saturday was being investigated as a traffic crash, police said.

The driver, who was identified by Washington DC police as an adult male, was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash that occurred shortly before 10:30 p.m., according to a Secret Service statement.

The crash appears to have occurred about 1,000ft (305 metres) from the White House at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and the southeast corner of the complex, near the Treasury Department, Ellipse, and the South Lawn.

The Metropolitan Police Department said the vehicle crashed into a security barrier at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

In a statement posted on X, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said: “There was no threat to the White House” and “no threat or public safety implications” resulting from Saturday’s wreck.

“Security protocols were implemented as officers cleared the vehicle and attempted to render aid to the driver who was discovered deceased,” the Secret Service said.

Officers tried to render aid to the driver, who has not been publicly identified. Authorities characterised the wreck at the outer gate of the US president’s home and office as “only … a traffic crash” rather than an intentional, politically motivated act.

President Joe Biden was spending the weekend in Delaware, and the Secret Service said there was no threat to the White House.

The Secret Service and police will continue to investigate.

It is the second such incident since the beginning of this year.

In January, authorities arrested a driver who crashed a car into an exterior gate of the White House.

The man taken into custody after the crash was believed to have been experiencing mental health issues, according to news reports.

That incident came a couple of weeks after a Delaware man accidentally crashed his vehicle into Biden’s motorcade. That driver was later charged with drunk-driving.

Last May, a man driving a U-Haul truck crashed into security barriers around Lafayette Square across the street from the White House. Investigators found the driver had a Nazi flag with him and identified him as Sai Varshith Kandula, a 19-year-old from Chesterfield in Missouri state.

Kandula was charged with one federal count of depredation of US property in excess of $1,000.