Dick Van Dyke injured in Malibu car accident amid L.A. rain - Los Angeles Times
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Dick Van Dyke injured in Malibu car accident amid Los Angeles downpour

A man with white hair and a beard waving
Dick Van Dyke attends a 2020 presidential campaign event for Sen. Bernie Sanders in Los Angeles.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
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Dick Van Dyke sustained “moderate injuries” in a Malibu car crash last week amid an ongoing downpour in Los Angeles County, police confirmed Wednesday to the Los Angeles Times.

The 97-year-old actor was driving in the rain last Wednesday morning when his car slid off the roadway and crashed into a block wall and a gate, a law enforcement spokesperson said. (The streets of Los Angeles have been especially slick in recent weeks amid heavy, near-constant precipitation. ) There were no other vehicles or passengers involved in the collision.

According to TMZ, the “Mary Poppins” star was bleeding from the nose and mouth and possibly suffered a concussion in the crash. A law enforcement spokesperson verified to The Times that Van Dyke suffered “moderate injuries to the face area,” but did not elaborate further.

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Members of the L.A. County Fire Department treated Van Dyke on the scene and encouraged him to go to the hospital. The Emmy winner — who was “alert and oriented” while interacting with paramedics — was not transported to the hospital via ambulance. However, law enforcement was under the impression that he went later or a friend or a relative later took him to the hospital.

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Van Dyke was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the time of the collision, reports said. TMZ also reported that police filed a request to the California Department of Motor Vehicles for Van Dyke to retake a driving test, partially because of his age. A law enforcement spokesperson told The Times he was not aware of any paperwork submitted to the DMV.

When reached by The Times, a spokesperson for the California DMV said Wednesday that the agency “does not comment on referrals from law enforcement or on matters involving individual drivers.”

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A representative for Van Dyke did not immediately respond Wednesday to an inquiry from The Times.

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