George Clooney and a companion were injured on Friday when their motorcycle collided with a car on a narrow road across the Hudson River from New York City.
Clooney suffered a broken rib and scrapes while his passenger, Sarah Larson, broke her foot in the 3:30 p.m. collision. The two were treated at Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen and released, Clooney’s spokesman, Stan Rosenfield, said.
“He’s doing fine,” Rosenfield said. “He has a broken rib, it’s very painful and it’ll take a long time to heal.”
Clooney and Larson were traveling north and sped up to pass on the right of a 1999 Mazda Millenia that was preparing to make a right turn, said Weehawken police Sgt. Sean Kelly. Both were wearing helmets.
Clooney e-mailed Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell on Friday. “All is fine ... not like giving birth,” he said, joking with O’Dell, who recently gave birth to her first child.
Monday, Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush interviewed 27-year-old Albert Sciancalepore, who was driving the car involved in the accident. When asked about his reaction to realizing it was Clooney he said, “My main concern was there’s two people on the ground, they just hit me and, you know, I’m concerned for them. They’re both bleeding, it’s more of a shock than anything, not because he’s a celebrity but more to the fact that there’s two people hurt on the ground that could have been severely hurt.”
It wasn’t known whether Sciancalepore used a turn signal, Kelly said. The accident was under investigation.
“It’s a he-said, she-said right now, but you can’t pass on the right in Weehawken or anywhere in Jersey,” Kelly said.
Rosenfield said the accident occurred when the vehicle signaled a left-hand turn, but turned right and struck Clooney’s motorcycle.
“The car signaled left. George was riding to the right. The driver decided to make an abrupt right turn and clipped George,” he said.
The 46-year-old actor was in the New York area to film the dark comedy “Burn After Reading,” co-starring Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.
Clooney’s recovery shouldn’t interrupt the production’s schedule, Rosenfield said.
Clooney’s latest film, “Michael Clayton,” will be released next month. He and Larson have been spotted together at several film festivals and movie premieres in recent weeks.