Paparazzi ruled out as cause of latest Lohan crash
Showbiz Desk

LOS ANGELES—Teen actress Lindsay Lohan has been involved in another traffic accident four months after a photographer crashed into her car, but police on Wednesday rejected suggestions paparazzi were to blame this time. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Luis Castro said the accident on Tuesday was caused by another motorist making an illegal turn in front of the actress.
Conflicting accounts of Tuesday’s incident had suggested Lohan had been trying to evade photographers or was driving too fast, but investigators have ruled out either paparazzi or excessive speed as factors in the collision between her car and a van in West Hollywood, Castro said. “It appears it’s ... the van’s fault for making an illegal U-turn,” he said. “At this time, we’ve ruled out that any paparazzi played a part in the accident, and speed was not a factor.”
He added that investigators had determined that Lohan’s black Mercedes convertible was travelling at about 35 mph when the crash occurred on fashionable Robertson Boulevard. They also concluded that no drugs or alcohol were involved. Castro said the driver of the van, though apparently at fault, was not cited for the accident and normally would not be for such a routine accident.
Lohan, 19, the star of such films as “Herbie: Fully Loaded” and “Mean Girls,” was taken by ambulance with a female passenger to a nearby hospital, where both were treated for minor injuries. The van’s driver was taken to the hospital with “moderate” injuries, sheriff’s deputies said.
The latest accident occurred just blocks away from where Lohan made headlines with a May 31 car crash involving a photographer who police said rammed his vehicle into her car while chasing the actress. In that case, the photographer was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Eyewitness accounts carried in the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets said photographers were taking Lohan’s picture while she was shopping and dining a short time before Tuesday’s accident. Her spokeswoman initially suggested the paparazzi were to blame for the collision.