Just days after he hit a pedestrian with his car here in D.C., conservative columnist Robert Novak has announced that he has a brain tumor. Novak’s paper, the Chicago Sun-Times, reported the news earlier today.

Novak said he was diagnosed on Sunday with a brain tumor and will soon begin treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He issued the following statement:

“On Sunday, July 27, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I have been admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment.

“I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period.

Novak reportedly fell ill at a family gathering on Sunday, and did not know he was sick before then. On Wednesday, Novak struck 86-year-old Don Clifford Liljenquist with his car near 18th and K Streets NW. Novak did not stop until a bicyclist flagged him down to prevent him from driving away. Novak has said he did not realize he had hit someone until witnesses told him what had happened. It’s too early to tell whether Novak’s tumor is malignant or benign, or whether it might have influenced Wednesday’s accident.