In April 1989, Gore was the victim of a near-fatal car accident while attending a baseball game in Baltimore, Maryland. Because of this and the resulting lengthy healing process, his father chose to stay near him during the recovery instead of laying the foundation for a presidential primary campaign against eventual Democrat party nominee, Bill Clinton.
As an adult, Gore gained media attention through some brushes with the law. On August 12, 2000, he was cited by the North Carolina Highway Patrol for driving 97 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour speed limit zone, but the charge was later dropped as part of an agreement with prosecutors under which his driving privileges in the state were suspended; on September 5, 2002, he was ticketed, but not taken into custody, for driving under the influence by military police near Fort Myer, Virginia; and on December 19, 2003, he was charged with marijuana possession in Bethesda, Maryland.