Kevin Hart Speaks Out for the First Time After Car Crash, Sends Message to Driver Who Lost Control of Car

Comedy Actor Kevin Hart at the premiere of Universal Pictures' Night School movie in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2018. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Comedian Kevin Hart has issued a public statement for the first time after he was involved in a car crash that left him with three spinal injuries.

In a statement released Thursday through his attorney, Andrew Brettler, Hart sent well wishes to his friend Jared Black and Black’s fiancee, Rebecca Broxterman—the two others who were in the same vehicle as Hart at the time of the crash.

“I have nothing but love for Jared and wish him and Rebecca a speedy recovery,” the statement read.

Hart’s statement comes as a report from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) released on the same day said that driver recklessness had caused the crash. Black was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash.

According to the report, Black was turning onto Mulholland Highway near Malibu around 12:45 a.m. on Sept. 1, when he accelerated and subsequently lost control of the car.

The quick acceleration caused the right rear tire to break traction, causing Hart’s vintage car—an electric blue 1970 Plymouth Barracuda—to cross the oncoming lane of the two-lane highway and roll down a deep embankment.

The car knocked down a fence before hitting a tree head-on. The impact was such that the tree was uprooted and rolled down the hill, the CHP report said.

The back of the car flew upward and the roof also hit the tree, severely smashing it down, investigators said. The sides were also smashed, and some doors could not be opened.

Black and Broxterman were trapped inside and had to be removed by first responders, who took them to a hospital.

Broxterman reportedly sustained minor injuries, while Black was pinned in his seat under the roof and also suffered back injuries, officials told TMZ.

“Two of the three occupants were trapped inside,” CHP told the LA Times. “The remaining occupant and the owner of the vehicle, Kevin Hart, left the scene to his nearby residence to get medical attention.”

A member of Hart’s security team reportedly showed up in an SUV and picked him up, TMZ had reported.

Hart was later hospitalized and was discharged from the hospital 10 days after the crash.

Black, 28, was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the report reiterated. It said that Black had violated the law, but did not specify whether charges were likely.

Brettler told the Associated Press on Thursday that Hart is doing okay and is still recovering from his injuries, working on physical therapy at home. He added that Hart is limiting his work but expects to fully return by the start of next year.

The comedian has only shot some promotional material for his upcoming film “Jumanji: The Next Level,” which is scheduled for a December release.

“While he’s doing a little work here and there for the film, he doesn’t expect to be fully back to work until the new year,” Brettler told Entertainment Weekly.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.