Montana Sen. Injured in Motorcycle Crash
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Max Baucus (search) suffered minor injuries Saturday in a motorcycle crash, his spokesman said.
The Montana Democrat was going to a family picnic when he hit some gravel and lost control of his Harley-Davidson (search) on a road near Lincoln, about 40 miles northwest of Helena, spokesman Barrett Kasier said. Baucus swerved to miss a car and hit a guardrail, Kaiser said.
Kaiser said Baucus suffered cuts on his foot and leg and bruises and scrapes on his hands in the afternoon crash.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The five-term senator was being treated in the emergency room at St. Peter's Hospital in Helena and was in some pain, Kaiser said. He said Baucus had been wearing a helmet and a leather jacket, which helped minimize the injuries.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said Baucus had not been drinking.
Baucus, 62, has been in Montana (search) all week for the Senate's Fourth of July recess and was scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., on Monday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Early last month Baucus was hospitalized for several days at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic after undergoing a procedure to help correct an irregular heart beat, and getting a pacemaker implanted.
In November, Baucus injured his head in the fall while running a 50-mile race. He later needed an operation in which two small holes were drilled into his skull to relieve pressure from fluid building up on the outside of his brain.