Billy Joel in car accident
2003-01-26 13:11
Sag Harbor, New York - Singer Billy Joel was in stable condition early on Sunday after his car swerved off the road and struck a tree on Long Island, police said.
The accident occurred around 22:30 on Saturday in Sag Harbor, when Joel lost control of his 2002 Mercedes Benz. The car swerved off the road and struck a tree, said police Chief Thomas Fabiano.
Joel was taken by ambulance to East Hampton Airport and then airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, police said.
A hospital spokesperson declined to comment on Joel's condition and said a news conference would be scheduled later in the morning to discuss the accident.
It was not immediately clear whether alcohol was involved, police said.
There were no passengers in the car, Fabiano said.
Witnesses said the crash tore off chunks of bark from the tree and left a trail of skid marks on the road where Joel had been driving.
Joel's award-winning career has spanned more than 30 years and includes more than two dozen Top Ten hits, including his signature 1974 song, Piano Man.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Bronx-born songwriter spent much of his childhood on Long Island and has been a mainstay on the Long Island social scene in recent years. He has appeared regularly at posh parties in the Hamptons, and has been politically active, supporting fishermen who work on the eastern end of the island. - Sapa-AP
- SAPA