Boston ? Conservative political commentator Robert Novak announced Monday he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, less than a week after he struck a pedestrian with his Corvette and drove on.

Novak, 77, fell ill on Cape Cod this weekend while visiting his daughter and was rushed to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he said he was diagnosed Sunday with the tumor.

Novak has been a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times for decades. His assistant, Kathleen Connolly, told the newspaper that doctors had not yet done a biopsy to determine whether the tumor was malignant.

Last week, Novak was given a $50 citation after he struck a homeless man with his black Corvette in downtown Washington. Novak kept going until he was stopped by a bicyclist, who said the man was splayed on Novak’s windshield.

It is the practice at some hospitals to check for brain tumors in patients who report having a recent car accident in which they didn’t realize they struck something.