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09/09 16:38 CDT Driver cited in Mass. wreck with Patriots QB Brady

Driver cited in Mass. wreck with Patriots QB Brady

By GLEN JOHNSON Associated Press Writer BOSTON (AP) -- Boston police have cited the driver of a van involved in an accident with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Police say 21-year-old Ludgero Rodrigues was cited Thursday for failing to stop at a red light. A police report says Rodrigues was driving a Mercury Villager minivan and struck Brady's Audi sedan at an intersection in Boston's Back Bay area near Brady's home. A 49-year-old passenger in the minivan was seriously injured. Brady was not hurt. The report says Brady told officers he had a green light and attempted to swerve out of the way when the van crossed his path. His car struck the passenger side of the van. Brady took part in the team's practice Thursday. A telephone listing for Rodrigues can't be found. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. BOSTON (AP) New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was in a two-car accident near his home Thursday morning, but was unhurt and hours later practiced as usual with his team just days before the season opener. The crash at an intersection in Boston's Back Bay area knocked over a light pole and sent a passenger in the other vehicle to the hospital with injuries that were serious but not considered life-threatening, officials said. A witness told The Associated Press that the two-time Super Bowl MVP was approaching the intersection on a green light when his Audi collided with a minivan. No charges have been filed. Brady's father had just arrived in Boston from the family's California home early Thursday and found out about the accident when he got off his flight. "I understand he's fine, but I haven't talked to him," Tom Brady Sr. told the AP outside his son's home three blocks from the accident site. Patriots coach Bill Belichick told the team about the accident before practice and said Brady might be a bit late, linebacker Tully Banta-Cain said. "I was hoping, obviously, that he was OK, but I saw him walking in. He had a smile on his face, no abrasions, so I think he's fine," Banta-Cain said. The Patriots open their season at home Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Brady remains in talks with the Patriots about a contract extension and is entering the final year of his current contract - a six-year, $57.3 million deal. During the 11-minute portion of afternoon practice that reporters were allowed to watch Thursday, Brady, in full uniform with pads and helmet, stretched as usual with his teammates. Then, as he usually does, he threw soft passes of 20 to 30 yards to teammates. "I want to thank the safety personnel for their service, and express our concern and support for the well-being of the occupants of the other vehicle," Brady's agent, Don Yee, said in a statement. Police responded to Commonwealth Avenue and Gloucester Street around 6:30 a.m. after reports of an accident, police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. One of Brady's neighbors, a 74-year-old woman who asked that her name not be used for fear of being hounded by reporters, was walking her dogs when she saw the accident. She said Brady was traveling south on Gloucester and approaching the intersection on a green light when his black Audi collided with a fast-moving red Ford Aerostar that was westbound on Commonwealth. "The red car went up in the air, sideways. ... The tire was half off," the woman said. Afterward, she said Brady immediately got out of his car. The woman had been walking toward the intersection when she saw the cars on their collision course. She took a step backward, tripped on the curb and hit her head, she said. She sat next to Brady in an ambulance, but neither was taken to a hospital. She said she did not realize he was the star quarterback until later. A passenger in the other vehicle had to be freed with the Jaws of Life and was taken to Brigham & Women's Hospital, said Steve MacDonald, a fire department spokesman. Bill Barron said he was in his apartment overlooking the intersection when he heard a collision that sounded like "a bolt of lightning." When he looked out the window, he saw the driver of the car picking glass off his clothes and wiping himself off with a towel. He didn't realize until later that it was Brady. "I thought it was some college kid who had crashed up his father's really nice car," Barron said. Brady then retrieved some items from his car, made a series of phone calls and was picked up by another vehicle, Barron said. ___ Associated Press writers Mark Pratt, Denise Lavoie and Howard Ulman contributed to this report. (This version CORRECTS spelling of driver's name, Rodrigues, not Rodriques.)