A St. Paul Parks and Recreation worker told police he was slowing to allow a bicyclist to pass, but he accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake.

The vehicle struck and injured the cyclist, who was a candidate for St. Paul mayor last year.

On Wednesday, the City Council approved a $62,000 settlement to Trahern Crews, who underwent surgery and spent three days in the hospital.

Crews, who is an organizer with Black Lives Matter Minnesota and spokesman for the Green Party of the 4th Congressional District, said Wednesday that injuries from the crash caused him to “pretty much put my whole (mayoral) campaign on hold. I was blessed to be able to walk after the guy ran over my legs.”

The collision happened about 7:35 a.m. Aug. 1, when Crews was bicycling from his North End home toward his workplace — a Hamline-Midway charter school — to weed and water its youth garden plots.

St. Paul Parks employee Dailen Walker, who was hired as a seasonal worker, was driving at Maryland Avenue and Arundel Street. He told police he saw a bicyclist and was slowing to allow him to pass when he accidentally stepped on the wrong pedal, according to a police spokesman.

Police cited Walker, who is now 22, with failure to drive with due care. Walker pleaded guilty to the petty misdemeanor.

Crews’ lawsuit, which said he was “severely and permanently injured,” claimed the city was liable for injuries and damages, though the city denied that, according to the settlement agreement.

“The city agreed to settle this case to avoid the costs associated with continued litigation,” said St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson.

The crash left Crews with a softball-sized hernia welt poking out of his stomach, he said. He also sustained a concussion, injuries to his knees and leg, and has two herniated discs in his back, for which he will need surgery, according to Crews and his lawsuit.

“I’m still trying to heal,” he said Wednesday. “I have more injuries than I thought I had.”

The Parks and Rec accident safety board reviewed the crash, according to Clare Cloyd, a department spokesman.

Walker, who was hired as a parks employee in May, resigned in September before findings from the review board were completed, Cloyd said. Walker could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Of the settlement, about $15,500 is going to Regions Hospital for Crews’ medical bills, and $46,500 is for Crews and his attorney.

Crews said he agreed to the settlement “under duress because of financial difficulties,” but he said it won’t be enough to cover lost wages and the additional medical bills he anticipates.

Crews, who had been an urban farmer and youth mentor, said the school where he was working ceased operations soon after the crash. He has tried to do other work, but his injuries have limited him and he is looking for another job.