Former US Congressman Michael Grimm is paralyzed after a polo accident

Former US congressman Michael Grimm is paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament.

His friend and former New York City Council member Vincent Ignizio told the Associated Press that the “tragic accident” occurred in September and that he is currently receiving treatment.

Ignizio has also set up a fundraising page to help pay for the New York Republican’s medical treatment.

Grimm, 54, a former Marine and FBI agent, represented Staten Island and part of Brooklyn in the House of Representatives but resigned months before his 2015 conviction on tax evasion charges.

“Through the grace of God and the amazing medical teams who helped him, Mr. Grimm miraculously threaded the needle to survive,” his fundraising page said, adding that treatment allowed him to walk again would cost “millions of dollars.”

Ignizio said his friend is being treated at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where the late actor Christopher Reeve stayed after a similar accident in 1995. the Associated Press reported.

“His ultimate goal is to be able to walk again,” Ignizio added.

On Monday, New York Mayor Eric Adams said his “thoughts and prayers” were with Grimm and that he was “deeply saddened” by the accident.

“Grimm is a Navy veteran, and as we honor our nation’s service members this Veterans Day, I hope for a full and speedy recovery,” he wrote on X.

Grimm was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010.

He was indicted in 2014 and the next year after a two-year federal investigation into his finances sentenced to eight months in prison.

Prosecutors at the time said he understated wages and income to avoid paying payroll, income and sales taxes.