Former New York City mayor and United States President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has been hospitalised after a car crash near Manchester, New Hampshire, a spokesman said.
Late Saturday evening, Giuliani suffered a fractured vertebra as well as other cuts, the spokesman, Michael Ragusa, said in a post on X. He said that Giuliani’s rental car was hit from behind at high speed, adding that it was not a targeted attack.
Giuliani, 81, was taken to a nearby trauma centre and was being treated for injuries including “a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg”, according to Ragusa.
Prior to the accident, Giuliani had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident”, and contacted police assistance on her behalf, Ragusa said.
After the police arrived, Giuliani continued on his way, and his vehicle was hit shortly after pulling onto the highway. Ragusa told The Associated Press in an emailed statement that the car crash was “entirely unrelated” to the domestic violence incident.
Ragusa said Giuliani was “in great spirits” and expected to be released from hospital in a few days.
The weekend crash follows some volatile years for the one-time failed Republican presidential candidate, who was dubbed “America’s mayor” in light of his leadership in New York after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Giuliani later became Trump’s personal lawyer for a time and a vocal proponent of Trump’s false allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error.
Two former Georgia elections workers later won a $148m defamation judgement against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgement, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court. He faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets.
He ultimately struck a deal that let him keep his homes and various belongings, including prized World Series rings, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop speaking ill of the ex-election workers.
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