Alec Baldwin, the actor and co-chair of the executive committee of the Hamptons International Film Festival’s board, made headlines unrelated to the festival on Monday after the white Range Rover he was driving collided with a tree on Pantigo Road, East Hampton, just before noon. Neither Mr. Baldwin nor his passenger, his brother Stephen Baldwin, was injured, but the vehicle sustained significant front-end damage and had to be towed.
According to the accident report, Mr. Baldwin stated that he had been headed east on Montauk Highway when the car ahead of him veered to the left into a hazard-marked area, to make a wide right turn into a parking lot. He initially thought it was going to turn left, he said, and tried to pass it on the right before realizing it was turning in his direction. He swerved sharp right to avoid a collision, but lost control of the vehicle, which hit the tree.
The actor commented on the incident in a video posted to his Instagram page later in the day, explaining that he’d received many inquiries about the accident and assuring his followers that he was “fine.” “My brother Stephen was out visiting me on Long Island, and we spent the weekend out there for the film festival,” he said, before pausing to congratulate the festival staff on the event.
“But this morning I was in this car accident,” he continued. “Guy cut me off in a truck — big garbage truck, I mean garbage truck the size of a whale. I’ve never seen a garbage truck — must have been something commercial, taking away material from construction or something.”
“Anyway,” he said, “to avoid hitting him I hit a tree, I hit a big fat tree, and crushed my car — my wife’s car. I crushed my wife’s car, I feel bad about that. But it’s all fine, I’m fine, and my brother’s fine.”
He concluded the video by congratulating the staff of the festival again and thanking the East Hampton Town Police Department, also thanking and spelling out the last name of the officer who responded to the scene. Mr. Baldwin will next be traveling to Los Angeles to see his family, he said, and will spend a few days there before returning home to Amagansett.