In a lengthy video posted to Instagram the Oscar-winning actor said he had been forced to swerve to avoid a 'garbage truck the size of a whale'

Hollywood star Alec Baldwin has crashed his wife's car into a "big fat tree" after swerving to avoid a "garbage truck the size of a whale" while driving his brother Stephen through the Hamptons, the actor has admitted.

In an Instagram video Monday night, titled 'Thank you for your concern', Baldwin said his wife Hilaria's Range Rover was "pretty smashed up" but that he and Stephen were both "fine", barring the visible injuries on his own face.

Paparazzi photos published by the The New York Post and celebrity scuttlebutt site TMZ showed the 67-year-old New Yorker talking on his cell phone beside a white Land Rover with its hood crumpled against a sizable tree trunk.

"I just want to post a quick message. I got all these inquiries about my car thing this morning," said the famed Donald Trump impersonator and former manslaughter defendant on Instagram.

"I was in a car accident this morning -- I'm fine. My brother Stephen was out visiting me on Long Island, and we spent the weekend out there for the film festival...

"But this morning I was in this car accident. Guy cut me off in a truck. Big garbage truck, I mean a garbage truck the size of a whale...

"It must have been something commercial for like, taking away material from construction or something. It was the biggest garbage truck I've ever seen, and the -- anyway, I won't go into the details now, I won't bore you.

"But to avoid hitting him I hit a tree. I hit a big fat tree, and crushed my car, my wife's car."

Baldwin then looked away from the camera for a moment, as if contemplating. "I crushed my wife's car. I feel bad about that."

Periodically his explanation was interrupted by a shrill squeal from a fire alarm or carbon monoxide detector suggesting that its batteries needed changing.

"But so I'm fine, and my brother's fine, boppity-bop," Baldwin continued. "Congratulations everybody on the film festival. Thank you to the East Hampton police department who came to my aid...

"[To my wife] Hilaria, I love you more than anything, and I'm very proud of you. Okay! I'm fine. I'm fine. Other than..." He then gestured to his injured face, and ended the video.

Baldwin also thanked the police officer who had helped him, an Officer Gerken, by name.

In 2023, Baldwin was charged with manslaughter in New Mexico after a prop gun went off in his hand during filming of the cowboy drama Rust, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin always maintained his innocence, and in July 2024 the case was dismissed after the court found that prosecutors had withheld evidence that could have helped his defense.

Alec Baldwin and brother Stephen get in car crash in Hamptons: 'I hit a big fat tree'