JFK - white car in Dealey Plaza

[turbonium]

This is not intended to be a part of the JFK "conspiracy" issue,, though it seems appropriate enough to post it in this area. I'm curious about this, to wit - not implying it is anything 'suspicious'. So.....

I haven't seen anything ever discussed regarding the white car in front of the JFK limo in the Zapruder film. In all the film and photos I've seen from that day, I've never seen any vehicle in front of the JFK limo. That is, JFK's limo is always the front car of the motorcade in all the footage as it goes through Dallas.

The first frame below shows the JFK limo as the lead car, with no other vehicle in front of it. This is seen through all the footage until after the head shot, as the JFK limo heads towards the underpass. The 2nd and 3rd frames show the limo "speeding" off after JFK has been shot, heading into the underpass, with a white car suddenly coming into view..

But where did this white car come from? And why does the limo speed up directly behind it, almost to its rear bumper, when it should be veering to the left side of it to pass by to get to the hospital? The white car is also barely moving along, as can be seen in the frames, and the end of the Zapruder footage. Does anyone know or maybe heard anything regarding this?

[echnaton]

My experience in working with Presidential motorcades for Bush, the elder, is that there is a local escort and a lead Secret Service car in front of the Presidential limos. The job of the lead car driver is to know the planned route and the alternatives in case of an emergency. The drivers for the limo and spare limo typically travel with those cars and are less likely to have the local road knowledge. When in Houston the first car in the “secure package” of the motorcade is a Houston police car with a passenger in the front seat. Then the cars driven by Secret Service drivers. The last vehicle in the package is a Houston Fire Department ambulance. The Service agents were reticent to discuss security in any detail.

My guess is that this security arrangement was basically in place before Kennedy became President and that your white car is probably a lead security vehicle that had been driving well ahead of the limo in the parade.

[turbonium]

Thx for the reply. Yes, I have since found out that the white car was indded the lead security car of the motorcade, and the limo was to follow it to the hospital.

[Kiwi]

Page 43 of the Warren Report:

ORGANIZATION OF THE MOTORCADE

Secret Service arrangements for Presidential trips, which were followed in the Dallas motorcade, are designed to provide protection while permitting large numbers of people to see the President. Every effort is made to prevent unscheduled stops, although the President may, and in Dallas did, order stops in order to greet the public.93 Men the motorcade slows or stops, agents take positions between the President and the crowd.94 The order of vehicles in the Dallas motorcade was as follows:

Motorcycles.--Dallas police motorcycles preceded the pilot car.95

The pilot car.--Manned by officers of the Dallas Police Department, this automobile preceded the main party by approximately quarter of a mile. Its function was to alert police along the route that the motorcade was approaching and to check for signs of trouble.96

Motorcycles.--Next came four to six motorcycle policemen whose main purpose was to keep the crowd back.

The lead car.--Described as a "rolling command car," this was an unmarked Dallas police car, driven by Chief of Police Curry and occupied by Secret Service Agents Sorrels and Lawson and by Dallas County Sheriff J. E. Decker. The occupants scanned the crowd and the buildings along the route. Their main function was to spot trouble in advance and to direct any necessary steps to meet the trouble. Following normal practice, the lead automobile stayed proximately four to five car lengths ahead of the President's limousine.98

The Presidential limousine.--The President's automobile was specially designed 1961 Lincoln convertible with two collapsible jump seats between the front and rear seats. (See Commission Exhibit No. 346, p. 44.) It was outfitted with a clear plastic bubbletop which was neither bulletproof nor bullet resistant.100 Because the skies had cleared in Dallas, Lawson directed that the top not be used for the day's activities. He acted on instructions he had received…