Biden pays respects on first wife, daughter’s graves on crash’s 49th anniversary

US President Joe Biden visited graves of first wife and infant daughter, who had died in a car crash, on Saturday.  

To pay respects to loved ones lost on the 49th anniversary of the mishap, Biden and family members thronged Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic church in Delaware, which is his home state.  

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In 1972, Biden’s first wife Neilia Biden and daughter Naomi had got killed in a car accident just after Delaware voters had elected the leader to the Senate.   

The mishap happened when they were going to pick up a Christmas tree. Beau and Hunter Biden, who were aged four and three at that time, had survived with serious injuries.  

The incident became a defining moment in Biden’s life. It shaped the president’s persona and political career. He spent 35 years in Senate, eight years as vice-president to Barack Obama and now around a year as president.  

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Biden had also recently started a speech in Minnesota by saying that how two the state’s former senators had helped him cope with the personal tragedy.  

Biden later married Jill and had a daughter, Ashley. Both were present at the church along with others on Saturday.  

(With inputs from agencies)