Harlem Crash Badly Injures 'They Might Be Giants' Guitarist: Reports

Harlem NY

10 June, 2022

12:51 PM

Description

HARLEM, NY — The guitarist of the alt-rock band They Might Be Giants was severely injured in what he called "a rather dramatic car accident" early Thursday, reportedly after being hit by a possible drunk driver in East Harlem. John Flansburgh, the group's 62-year-old co-founder, recounted the frightening crash in an Instagram post hours later, written from a hospital "while under a thick cloud of pain medication," he said. While Flansburgh did not specify where it happened, the Daily News reported that he was taking a car service to his home after playing a concert at the Bowery Ballroom, when the Ford rideshare vehicle was T-boned by a Honda driver near the corner of Park Avenue and East 102nd Street at around 12:45 a.m. "The force of the impact actually flipped our car over to its side," Flansburgh wrote. "While the driver and I oriented ourselves to our new sideways, broken glass and airbag-filled reality, we sensed the ominous smell of motor oil and smoke." Moments later, "a dozen NYC firemen arrived" and managed to free Flansburgh and the driver from the car, he said. Flansburgh later learned he had broken seven ribs and would be bedridden "for the foreseeable future." The Honda driver, a 26-year-old Bronx man, lost control, jumped a curb and collided with a gate after the crash, according to the Daily News, adding that he was later arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, resisting arrest and refusing to take a breathalyzer test. Flansburgh and his driver were both taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center, the Daily News reported. They Might Be Giants were forced to postpone their remaining June tour dates on Thursday. "Until then I will be watching reruns of Sex in the City until I am strong enough to reach the remote," Flansburgh wrote. "Wish me luck. I'm going to need it."