Lindsay Lohan blames car crash on paparazzi
Peter David

LOS ANGELES—Teenage star Lindsay Lohan was fleeing paparazzi when her car slammed into a van in Los Angeles, her publicist said, warning that overzealous photographers could end up causing a deadly accident.
But police said the accident that sent the “Freaky Friday” and “Herbie Fully Loaded” star to hospital after her convertible Mercedes Benz slammed into the other vehicle Tuesday was not caused by the press, but by the other driver.
“We are currently investigating the incident, but it does not appear that the paparazzi were a factor in the traffic accident,” Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department spokesman Scott Gage told newsmen. “The cause appears to be an illegal turning movement, a U-turn, by the driver of the van,” added Deputy Luis Castro.
The 19-year-old Hollywood starlet and her passenger, believed to be her assistant, were taken to hospital to be treated for cuts and scrapes, while the driver of the red minivan, a local restaurant employee, suffered “moderate” injuries but was released from hospital after treatment, police said.
But Lohan’s publicist said that while the direct cause of the crash was the other driver cutting the star off, the dozens of paparazzi that had been snapping the actress as she had lunched and shopped shortly before the accident had also played a role in it.
“Lindsay got into her car to escape the paparazzi and went to leave and unfortunately the red car made an illegal U-turn and cut her off,” Leslie Sloan told AFP. “That’s why the car crashed. It’s not her fault,” she said.
The accident took place just four months after Lohan was involved in another car crash that occurred just blocks away from Tuesday’s incident after a paparazzo allegedly rammed the star’s 180,000-dollar Mercedes SL65 coupe in a bid to get a dramatic photograph of her.
Police arrested the photographer and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon. The incident led to California’s movie star Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger enacting a new law Friday toughening the civil penalties against snappers who commit assault while pursuing a subject.