San Jose mayor struck by SUV while riding bicycle, suffers minor injury

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo was struck by a SUV while riding his bicycle Tuesday afternoon.  A representative with the mayor's office said Liccardo was taken to the hospital to get checked out. 

"He's a bit banged up, but it's nothing overly serious," the representative said. The mayor's office said Liccardo suffered minor fractures in the accident. 

At around 12:30 p.m., the mayor, 48, was biking on the 600 block of Salt Lake Drive, when he was struck by a motor vehicle, a statement from his office read. The driver of the vehicle pulled over and stayed at the scene to cooperate, officials said. 

He is likely to be kept overnight for observation and should be back home in a day or two.

“I’d like to thank compassionate neighbors like Linda and Tom who rushed to help immediately after the accident; the fast and professional response from Fire Station 19 and the San Jose Police Department; the wonderful paramedic care from Alex and her team; and the outstanding medical attention from Dr. Jimenez and the entire staff at Regional Medical Center,” said Liccardo. 

Fortunately the mayor was wearing a helmet. One of the neighbors who rushed to help is in the medical profession. She said she did not recognize Liccardo at first with his sunglasses on, but said they would have helped no matter who it was. The driver of the SUV said they did not see the mayor.

The mayor is resting and in good spirits. He even made light of the situation with a self-deprecating political joke saying, "Fortunately, the doctors state that all the defects to the head were pre-existing conditions."  

KTVU had just interviewed the mayor earlier on Tuesday before his accident for a story on San Jose's minimum wage increase.  

Police are investigating the accident. 

KTVU's Azenith Smith contributed to this report.