Billy Joel suffers severe stomach pains

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Entertainer Billy Joel has checked himself into a New York hospital for tests after suffering severe stomach pains, E! Online reports.

"After experiencing severe gastric pains, Billy Joel has been admitted to a local New York hospital for tests," said a statement from Joel publicist Claire Mercuri, adding that Joel "is expected to be released later this week."

No other details of the 55-year-old Joel were made known.

In 2002, Joel spent some time in rehab after crashing his Mercedes into a wall on Long Island, later explaining that his stay at the clinic stemmed from a "prolonged period of indulgence." He has been in at least two car crashes since then, one of them not far from the site of the first mishap.

Last October, Joel took his third wife, 23-year-old Katie Lee, restaurant correspondent for the PBS show, "George Hirsch: Living it Up!" His last marriage, to supermodel Christie Brinkley, ended in divorce in 1994.