Nothing humanizes celebrities more than news of them driving recklessly and trying to get out of it with a creative excuse. We’ve already covered celebs running over the paparazzi, and we know that those “accidents” were motivated by the desire to run over photogs who overstep the boundaries of decency.
These car accident cases don’t involve the paps and shockingly don’t include Lindsay Lohan or Justin Bieber. They’re a simple reminder to the average, non-Maserati-driving Seattle motorist that creative excuses aren’t good enough to get you out of messy motor mishaps.
Straight up messed up Paula Abdul’s hit and run charge
Everyone in America knows Paula as the nice judge on American Idol. We don’t mean to shatter your illusions, but Paula has a dark side, too.
In 2005, forever America’s favorite ‘Idol’ girl was charged with hit and run for clipping cars on an LA freeway. But instead of stopping to assess and deal with the damages, the Mercedes driver fled the scene.
The passengers in one of the clipped cars was able to take a photo of the Benz’s plate number, which is how California Highway Patrol identified Paula as the owner.
The excuse: She doesn’t remember hitting a car but vaguely remembers hitting a pothole on the day of the incident. Her less fantastical excuse was that her car was in the shop on the day the accident happened.
In terms of excuses, Paula’s wasn’t that wild. But you got to admit, it’s a classic like her dance moves.
The incident was considered a minor accident and no one was seriously injured. A hit and run charge is considered a misdemeanor charge so the consequences are pretty slim: just a 90-day stint in jail and a $1,000 penalty.
Halle Berry blames head injuries for forgetting she broke some laws
Is Halle Berry a great actress? Without a doubt. Does she have questionable choices in film roles? Also true. Is she capable of making up a plausible excuse when caught in a car accident? Signs point to no.
Halle wasn’t driving under the influence when she crashed a rented SUV into Hetal Raythatha’s vehicle in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. But she was probably disoriented because after the crash, she drove home and then went to the hospital to get herself treated.
Halle’s head injuries required 22 stitches, while Hetal sustained a broken wrist and had to be rescued from her car. According to Hetal, Halle beat the red light, causing her to crash into Hetal’s vehicle, and immediately fled. But Halle had a different take...
The excuse: According to Halle, the head injuries she sustained caused her to lose recollection of the incident, which bears some resemblance to the plot of her movie, “Gothika.” Unfortunately for her, temporary amnesia doesn’t buy you a get-out-of-jail card.
For her misdemeanor, Halle faced sentencing to a maximum of 1 year in jail but ended up with community service.
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hanks get blamed for son’s motor mishap
Unlike the notorious messy motorists of Hollywood, Tom Hanks isn’t known for his problematic road rages. He’s a sweetheart who befriends cabbies and tips them with tickets to his Broadway show.
But despite being one of Hollywood’s nicest guys, he and his wife Rita Wilson were sued by 60-year-old Terry Moogan for rear-ending him in a Los Angeles freeway.
The excuse: It wasn’t him driving but his son Chester, who also goes by his “rapper” name Chet Haze.
Terry and his legal team blamed little Chester’s parents for the physical and emotional injuries he suffered. According to them, permitting Chester to drive a Chevy is negligent especially since he’s known to have substance abuse problems.
Although it’s not unheard of to hold parents liable in personal injury cases, Chester was 27 at the time of the accident. But what made the case less strange is the fact that Tom and Rita owned the car involved in the accident and Chester’s substance abuse problems are well documented by the media.
More importantly, what would Chester rap about if he didn’t have struggles that the people can relate to?
Dealing with car accidents is tedious. When it happens to you, one of the first things you need to determine is whether you have to pay damages. Creative excuses rarely work -- call a Buckingham, LaGrandeur & Williams personal injury lawyer who can help maneuver your way out of even more stress.