Biden said it was inadvertent, due to his not knowing the proper rules of citation, and he was permitted to retake the course after receiving an "F" grade, which was subsequently dropped from his record (this incident would later attract attention when further plagiarism accusations emerged in 1987). Longtime Delaware political figure and Republican incumbent Senator J. Subsequent to the accident, Biden commented that the truck driver had been drinking alcohol prior to the collision, but these allegations were denied by the driver's family and were never substantiated by the police.