West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s wife hospitalized following car accident

Gayle Manchin, the wife of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, has been hospitalized following a car accident in Alabama.

Manchin and her colleague Guy Land were driving from the airport to a hotel in Birmingham when their vehicle was struck by another one, the senator said in a statement.

The two were in town for an Appalachian Regional Commission event scheduled for Tuesday, the organization said in a statement. Manchin, 76, is the federal co-chair of the commission, while Land is a lobbyist.

“Manchin and Mr. Land are receiving excellent medical care and remain at a (University of Alabama-Birmingham) facility as they recover,” the commission said.

Sen. Manchin said that his wife of 57 years, with whom he shares three children, “remains in stable condition but will stay (in the hospital) for a couple of days for precautionary measures.”

“We want to thank the first responders who answered the call and were first on site to provide assistance and support,” he added.

While the senator was not directly involved, a number of Congress members have been involved in car accidents recently. Earlier in January, Kentucky’s Hal Rogers was hospitalized after a crash in Washington, D.C. In August 2023, North Carolina Rep. Kathy Manning suffered a broken sternum and a broken foot in a car accident in the Tar Heel State.

Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski and three others were killed in a two-vehicle collision in northern Indiana in August 2022.

Manchin, a Democrat, announced in November he would not seek re-election to the Senate.

____________