Gov. Jay Nixon said he was fine today after a car accident in Jefferson City.

Nixon was sent to the hospital with minor injuries earlier this morning after his vehicle was involved in a three-car, chain-reaction collision. The governor said he suffered a little "neck action" from the accident.

The accident occurred when Nixon's security vehicle was rear-ended while it was stopped in traffic, his office confirmed. He was taken to the emergency room at Capital Regional Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Nixon said he was in the back seat reading documents at the time of the collision, and was not wearing a seat belt. Missouri law does not require back seat passengers over the age of 16 to wear seat belts.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeffrey Coulson, who is assigned to the governor's security division and was driving the governor's vehicle at the time of the crash, also received minor injuries. The vehicle sustained about $1,500 in damage to the rear bumper and trunk, according to the crash report.

Quipped Nixon of the accident: "It's an interesting way to start your morning."

The crash occurred at about 9 a.m. on the Rex M. Whitton Expressway between Jefferson and Madison streets -- just a few blocks from the state Capitol -- as Nixon's vehicle was stopped in traffic. The car behind Nixon's was rear-ended before it, in turn, rear-ended the governor's vehicle, according to the crash report.

The woman who was in the car behind Nixon did not know she had crashed into the governor's vehicle until she was informed by a Post-Dispatch reporter. Rebecca Libbert, 54, of Jefferson City, said the governor's vehicle drove away immediately following the collision.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed when she was told of the other vehicle's important passenger. "I had no idea!"

No tickets were issued in the crash.

The governor continued with his schedule for the day, with stops at Adair County High School in Brashear and Lafayette Senior High School in Wildwood.