By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — State Senator and New York Attorney General candidate Eric Schneiderman was involved in a car accident Monday night which NY1 is calling a "hit-and-run."
Schneiderman was reportedly a passenger in a car being driven by a staffer — believed to be the niece of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan — when they rear-ended a parked car outside the Chelsea Market on Ninth Avenue and drove away.
The car happened to be owned by NY1 Executive Editor Melissa Rabinovich, who learned of the events from a cyclist who reportedly saw what had happened and jotted down the car's plates, NY1 reported.
But Schneiderman spokesman James Freedland said in a statement that the incident has been blown completely out of proportion by NY1.
“For NY1 to call this a ‘hit and run’ is nothing short of outrageous. Last night when pulling out of a parking space, a staff member driving Eric Schneiderman’s car bumped the car parked in front of them. The senator was in the passenger seat and did not believe that either his car or the car in front of his had sustained damage," he said.
"He later discovered his car had been dented, and this morning was notified it had damaged the bumper and tail light of the other car. He has spoken with the owner of the other vehicle, expressed his sincere apology, and offered to pay for all repairs."
The AG candidate appeared on NY1 Tuesday night to apologize to the owner of the car, but stressed that the incident had been vastly exaggerated.
Rabinovich's car sustained about $3,000 in damage, the network said.
But Rabinovich seemed less than pleased with Schneiderman’s response.
“He told me that he had disciplined the staffer but he was also insisting that it was just a bump and not a moving violation,” the network quoted Rabinovich as saying. “I told him: ‘Your car was moving and then you drove away. A total stranger realized that you damaged my car but you didn’t?’”
Schneiderman had just completed an interview with the network before the accident occurred, the network said.
