BOSTON (AP) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in a two-car accident near his home on Thursday morning but was unhurt and attended a walk-through practice later in the day.
The crash knocked over a light pole and sent a passenger in the other vehicle to the hospital with serious injuries that are not considered life-threatening, Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said. No charges have been filed.
The two-time Super Bowl MVP’s father, Tom Brady Sr., had just arrived in Boston from the family’s California home early Thursday and found out about the accident as soon as he got off his flight.
“I understand he’s fine, but I haven’t talked to him,” the two-time Super Bowl MVP’s father, Tom Brady Sr., told The Associated Press outside his son’s home in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick told the team about the accident before practice and said Brady might be a bit late, linebacker Tully Banta-Cain said.
“I was hoping, obviously, that he was OK, but I saw him walking in. He had a smile on his face, no abrasions, so I think he’s fine,” Banta-Cain said.
As afternoon practice began, Brady, in full uniform with pads and helmet, was doing stretches along with his teammates.
Police responded to the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Gloucester Street at about 6:30 a.m. to reports of an accident between an Audi sedan and a minivan, police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. The intersection is three blocks from Brady’s home.
The accident remains under investigation.
“I want to thank the safety personnel for their service, and express our concern and support for the well-being of the occupants of the other vehicle,” Brady’s agent, Don Yee, said in a statement, adding he had no other information.
One of Brady’s neighbors, a 74-year-old woman who asked that her name not be used for fear of being hounded by media inquiries, was walking her dogs when she saw the accident.
She said Brady was traveling south on Gloucester and approaching the intersection on a green light when his black Audi collided with a fast-moving red Ford Aerostar that was westbound on Commonwealth.
“The red car went up in the air, sideways. … The tire was half off,” the woman said.
Afterward, she said Brady immediately got out of his car.
The woman had been walking toward the intersection when she saw the cars headed toward each other. She took a step backward, tripped on the curb and hit her head, she said.
She sat next to Brady in an ambulance, but neither was taken to the hospital. She did not realize he was the star quarterback until later.
A passenger in the other vehicle had to be freed with the Jaws of Life and was taken to Brigham & Women’s Hospital MacDonald said.
Bill Barron said he was in his apartment overlooking the intersection when he heard a collision that sounded like “a bolt of lightning.”
When he looked out the window, he saw the driver of the car picking glass off his clothes and wiping himself off with a towel. He didn’t realize until later that it was Brady.
“I thought it was some college kid who had crashed up his father’s really nice car,” Barron said.
Brady then retrieved some items from his car, made a series of phone calls and was picked up by another vehicle, Barron said.
The Patriots open their season at home Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The accident comes as Brady remains in talks with the Patriots about a contract extension. He is entering the final year of his current contract _ a six-year, $57.3 million deal.
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Associated Press writers Mark Pratt, Denise Lavoie and Howard Ulman contributed to this report.
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