diff --git a/tests/protocols/test_websocket.py b/tests/protocols/test_websocket.py
index 931cc43c8..311a6875e 100644
--- a/tests/protocols/test_websocket.py
+++ b/tests/protocols/test_websocket.py
@@ -1171,15 +1171,7 @@ async def websocket_session(url):
         with pytest.raises(websockets.exceptions.InvalidStatusCode) as exc_info:
             async with websockets.client.connect(url):
                 pass  # pragma: no cover
-        if ws_protocol_cls == WSProtocol:
-            # ws protocol has started to send the response when it
-            # fails with the subsequent invalid message so it cannot
-            # undo that, we will get the initial 404 response
-            assert exc_info.value.status_code == 404
-        else:
-            # websockets protocol sends its response in one chunk
-            # and can override the already started response with a 500
-            assert exc_info.value.status_code == 500
+        assert exc_info.value.status_code == 500
 
     config = Config(
         app=app,
@@ -1218,10 +1210,7 @@ async def websocket_session(url):
         with pytest.raises(websockets.exceptions.InvalidStatusCode) as exc_info:
             async with websockets.client.connect(url):
                 pass  # pragma: no cover
-        if ws_protocol_cls == WSProtocol:
-            assert exc_info.value.status_code == 404
-        else:
-            assert exc_info.value.status_code == 500
+        assert exc_info.value.status_code == 500
 
     config = Config(
         app=app,
diff --git a/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py b/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py
index 0e33178a3..f2985599b 100644
--- a/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py
+++ b/uvicorn/protocols/websockets/wsproto_impl.py
@@ -70,7 +70,10 @@ def __init__(
         self.queue: asyncio.Queue["WebSocketEvent"] = asyncio.Queue()
         self.handshake_complete = False
         self.close_sent = False
-        self.response_started = False
+
+        # Rejection state
+        self.reject_event: typing.Optional[typing.Any] = None
+        self.response_started: bool = False  # we have sent response start
 
         self.conn = wsproto.WSConnection(connection_type=ConnectionType.SERVER)
 
@@ -224,6 +227,8 @@ def handle_ping(self, event: events.Ping) -> None:
         self.transport.write(self.conn.send(event.response()))
 
     def send_500_response(self) -> None:
+        if self.response_started or self.handshake_complete:
+            return  # we cannot send responses anymore
         headers = [
             (b"content-type", b"text/plain; charset=utf-8"),
             (b"connection", b"close"),
@@ -243,15 +248,13 @@ async def run_asgi(self) -> None:
             result = await self.app(self.scope, self.receive, self.send)
         except BaseException:
             self.logger.exception("Exception in ASGI application\n")
-            if not self.response_started:
-                self.send_500_response()
+            self.send_500_response()
             self.transport.close()
         else:
             if not self.handshake_complete:
                 msg = "ASGI callable returned without completing handshake."
                 self.logger.error(msg)
-                if not self.response_started:
-                    self.send_500_response()
+                self.send_500_response()
                 self.transport.close()
             elif result is not None:
                 msg = "ASGI callable should return None, but returned '%s'."
@@ -264,7 +267,8 @@ async def send(self, message: "ASGISendEvent") -> None:
         message_type = message["type"]
 
         if not self.handshake_complete:
-            if not self.response_started:
+            if not (self.response_started or self.reject_event):
+                # a rejection event has not been sent yet
                 if message_type == "websocket.accept":
                     message = typing.cast("WebSocketAcceptEvent", message)
                     self.logger.info(
@@ -319,9 +323,10 @@ async def send(self, message: "ASGISendEvent") -> None:
                         headers=list(message["headers"]),
                         has_body=True,
                     )
-                    output = self.conn.send(event)
-                    self.transport.write(output)
-                    self.response_started = True
+                    # Create the event here but do not send it, the ASGI spec
+                    # suggest that we wait for the body event before sending.
+                    # https://asgi.readthedocs.io/en/latest/specs/www.html#response-start-send-event
+                    self.reject_event = event
 
                 else:
                     msg = (
@@ -331,14 +336,23 @@ async def send(self, message: "ASGISendEvent") -> None:
                     )
                     raise RuntimeError(msg % message_type)
             else:
+                # we have started a rejection process with http.response.start
                 if message_type == "websocket.http.response.body":
                     message = typing.cast("WebSocketResponseBodyEvent", message)
                     body_finished = not message.get("more_body", False)
                     reject_data = events.RejectData(
                         data=message["body"], body_finished=body_finished
                     )
+                    if self.reject_event is not None:
+                        # Prepend with the reject event now that we have a body event.
+                        output = self.conn.send(self.reject_event)
+                        self.transport.write(output)
+                        self.reject_event = None
+                        self.response_started = True
+
                     output = self.conn.send(reject_data)
                     self.transport.write(output)
+
                     if body_finished:
                         self.queue.put_nowait(
                             {"type": "websocket.disconnect", "code": 1006}