San Jose City councilmember Arjun Batra has denied allegations he paid an unhoused man $40 because he hit the man with his Lexus in downtown San Jose after he was caught on tape talking to the man and handing him money. The San Jose Spotlight reported the incident last week and posted a TikTok video of Batra and the man, which does not include the full incident. Witnesses have presented conflicting accounts, but one–a city worker who captured the video–says they saw the car accident occur. In a statement to NBC Bay Area, Batra denied the accident occurred but said it was a “close call.” The statement said that Batra gave the man $40 after making a sudden stop to avoid hitting the unhoused man, who was crossing the intersection Batra was at. According to Batra, the man came up to him to reassure him he was okay and asked if he could spare $40. “I am at City Hall to work on my two top priorities: pedestrian and traffic safety, and homelessness,”Batra said in the statement. “I am glad that I was able to personally help this man in some small way.”
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