Rapper 50 Cent in 'bad accident' on LIE

Hip-hop star 50 Cent was released from a Flushing hospital Tuesday morning after a "bad" early-morning car accident on the Long Island Expressway.

A representative for the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, confirmed in a statement to Newsday, "Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson was involved in a car accident in New York early Tuesday morning. He was taken to New York Hospital Queens [in Flushing], where he was treated for minor neck and back injuries. He was released Tuesday morning and is doing fine."

ThisIs50.com, the rapper's official website, posted at 3 a.m. Tuesday: "50 Cent was in a bad accident tonight as his bulletproof SUV was rear-ended by a Mack truck on the LIE in NYC. He was put on a stretcher and taken to the nearest Queens hospital where they are currently running tests on his neck and back."

The website said the rapper's driver was also hospitalized, and that the truck driver reportedly told police he had lost control of his vehicle when its load shifted.