Actor Kevin Hart suffered “major back injuries” in a car crash in Los Angeles early Sunday, reports said.
The 40-year-old comedian was in one of his beloved classic cars — an electric blue 1970 Plymouth Barracuda he dubbed “Menace” — when it veered off winding Mulholland Highway in Malibu Hills, crashed through a wooden fence and plunged down a gully around 1 a.m., TMZ said.
The impact crushed the roof of the vehicle, which Hart bought in July as a birthday present to himself.
Hart’s friend, Jared Black, 28, was behind the wheel at the time of the crash, according to Radar Online.
Hours earlier, Hart posted Instagram video of himself sitting in the car as someone yelled at him in the background that he had been burning too much rubber in it, TMZ said.
Also in the car at the time of the accident was Rebecca Broxterman, 31, Hart and his wife’s personal trainer, Radar said.
Black was turning when he “immediately lost control of the vehicle, and the Plymouth left the road and rolled over down the northern embankment,” the site said, quoting cops.
“Two of the three occupants were trapped in the vehicle. The remaining occupant and owner of the vehicle left the scene to his nearby residence to get medical attention.”
A member of Hart’s security team came to get him, TMZ said.
Meanwhile, “the driver was located in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and determined not to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision,” police said.
“Hart and Black sustained major back injuries as a result of this and were transported and treated at nearby hospitals.”
Broxterman declined treatment, police said.
A few weeks ago, after Hart purchased the hot-rod vehicle, he posed next to it in a photo posted to his Instagram account in which he flexed his right arm and wrote, “I added some more muscle to the family for my 40th….welcome home ‘Menace’ #MuscleCarLover.”
Hart is known for his love of classic rides. In December, he bought some muscle cars for his comedy buddies after their “Irresponsible” tour.