ROCKPORT, Maine (AP) - The Latest on the Maine governor’s bicycle accident (all times local):
2:10 p.m.
Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage said a bicycle helmet saved him last fall in a crash in which he says he was hit by an uninsured driver.
LePage told MaineToday Media that he “wouldn’t be here” without the helmet, which was cracked into two pieces in the crash the day before Thanksgiving in Florida. He said the crash “sent me flying 40 feet.”
LePage said a young woman was distracted while driving and hit him in Daytona Beach.
He originally disclosed the accident Friday at Maine International Trade Day. He was riding with his wife, Ann, when the accident happened.
LePage later said he was taken to the hospital, and that the crash exacerbated a previous shoulder injury. He said he’ll have shoulder surgery in the near future.
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11:15 a.m.
Maine’s governor says he was hit by a car while bicycling in November in Florida and will need surgery.
Republican Gov. Paul LePage revealed the news about the accident Friday at Maine International Trade Day. He said he and his wife, Ann, were riding bicycles near their second home in Ormond Beach and a car knocked him off his bike. She wasn’t hurt.
LePage said he kept the accident quiet. He brushed off questions afterward, including saying it was “none of your business.”
Later, a spokesman said LePage previously mentioned the accident to legislators, members of the public and others.
LePage brought it up when saying he’d like to lead a trade mission to Taiwan before leaving office in January. He says the surgery might complicate those plans.
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