Dec 18, 2021 - Politics & Policy
Biden honors anniversary of 1972 car crash that killed wife and daughter

President Biden departs after attending Mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Del., earlier this month. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
President Biden on Saturday honored his first wife and infant daughter who were killed in a 1972 car crash by visiting their graves at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church, AP reports.
The big picture: Biden visited the church in Wilmington, Del., with first lady Jill Biden along with other family members like Ashley and Hunter Biden, per AP.
- His wife, Neilia, and 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, died after their car collided with a tractor-trailer while they were out Christmas shopping 49 years ago.
- Their sons, Beau and Hunter, were also in the car at the time of the crash and were seriously injured but survived. Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.
- The president married Jill in 1977 and added Ashley to the family.
- The car crash occurred soon after Biden was elected to the Senate in 1972.