The driver of a truck has been detained after crashing into security barriers across from the White House on Monday night.

A Secret Service official said nobody had been hurt - later adding that the truck had been deemed safe, and that initial investigations suggested the crash might have been intentional.

Some local roads and pedestrian areas were closed off, he earlier said.

The driver of the U-Haul removal truck was not immediately identified.

WUSA - a CBS-affiliated television station covering Washington DC - cited a witness as saying that the driver had hit the barriers a second time, following the initial collision.

The incident - which happened just before 22:00 (02:00 GMT) - triggered evacuations of local hotels including the Hay Adams. (BBC)