what happened to joe biden's first wife

Joe Biden’s first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, died in a car accident on December 18, 1972, in Delaware, along with the couple’s 13‑month‑old daughter, Naomi, when their car was struck by a truck while she was out Christmas shopping with the children.

Quick Scoop: What Happened

• Neilia Hunter Biden was Joe Biden’s first wife; they married in 1966 and had three children: Beau, Hunter, and Naomi.

• On December 18, 1972, Neilia was driving with all three children in Hockessin, Delaware, to pick up a Christmas tree when their station wagon was hit by a tractor‑trailer at an intersection.

• Neilia, age 30, and baby Naomi, age 13 months, were killed in the crash; sons Beau and Hunter were seriously injured but survived.

• Joe Biden had just been elected to the U.S. Senate and was in Washington, D.C., interviewing staff when he got the call about the accident.

Accident Details and Later Clarifications

• Contemporary reports and later investigations describe it as a tragic traffic collision at a country intersection in Delaware, not a deliberate act.

• Over the years, some stories and social media posts falsely claimed that the truck driver was drunk or that Biden himself was responsible, but fact‑checks and a Delaware judge have stated there is no evidence the driver was intoxicated and no basis for claims that Biden “killed” his wife.

• Records indicate Neilia’s car entered the intersection and was struck by the truck; some reports say she may have pulled out from a stop sign, but the exact moment‑by‑moment details are partly lost with the original police file.

How It Affected Biden and His Family

• The crash happened just weeks after Biden won his first Senate race, and he considered giving up the seat to care for his sons.

• He was sworn in as senator at his sons’ hospital bedside so he could stay close to them in Delaware and began commuting daily from Delaware to Washington, a habit that lasted for decades.

• The loss of Neilia and Naomi, and later the death of his son Beau, is widely described as shaping Biden’s public focus on grief, empathy, and family.

TL;DR: Joe Biden’s first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, died in a 1972 car accident in Delaware while driving with their children; she and their baby daughter Naomi were killed, and their two sons were badly injured but survived.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.