Rudy Giuliani is recovering from a fractured vertebra and other injuries following a car crash in New Hampshire in which he was a passenger, a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor said Sunday.
Giuliani was being driven in a rented Ford Bronco by his spokesperson Ted Goodman when their vehicle was struck from behind by a Honda HR-V driven by a 19-year-old woman late Saturday evening, New Hampshire State Police said in a statement.
Troopers witnessed the crash, which caused both vehicles to hit the highway median and left them “heavily damaged,” state police said. Goodman and the 19-year-old suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” and were taken to hospitals for treatment, the agency added.
State police said they are investigating the crash and no charges have been filed.
Giuliani, 81, was taken to a nearby trauma center and was being treated for a fractured thoracic vertebra, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg, according to a statement posted on X by Michael Ragusa, Giuliani’s head of security.
Giuliani “sustained injuries but is in good spirits and recovering tremendously,” Ragusa said, adding: “This was not a targeted attack.”
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 police arrived, Giuliani continued on his way and his vehicle was hit shortly after pulling onto the highway in a crash that was “entirely unrelated” to the domestic violence incident, Ragusa told The Associated Press in an emailed statement.
State police said troopers were investigating a domestic violence report on the southbound Interstate 93 highway shortly before 10 p.m. and observed the crash, which occurred on the northbound lanes. Troopers and fire personnel quickly crossed to provide help.
New Hampshire State Police declined to comment on whether Giuliani had contacted the agency regarding the account of a domestic violence incident.
Goodman did not respond to requests for comment and Giuliani’s team did not provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the crash.
“Thank you to all the people that have reached out since learning the news about my Father,” Andrew Giuliani, Rudy Giuliani’s son, wrote in a post on X. “Your prayers mean the world.”
The crash follows some rocky years for the onetime Republican presidential candidate, who was dubbed “America’s mayor” in light of his leadership in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
Giuliani later became President Donald Trump’s personal attorney for a time and a vocal proponent of Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, 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 $148 million defamation judgment against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgment, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court and 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. ____
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York City contributed to this report.