Good news for Justin Bieber and his legions of fans! The hit-and-run charges that a photographer alleged the Biebs of after he was reportedly knocked down by Justin’s Ferrari last month are not going to be filed by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office opted not to file the hit-and-run charges largely because, even if Justin’s Ferrari was involved in knocking down a member of the paparazzo — the photographer — it’s likely that Justin would not have been aware of it, because of all of the confusion going on at the time.
The incident took place on June 17. Bieber and his friend Lil Twist were leaving the club, and there were several people standing around his Ferrari. Justin Bieber didn’t motion to any of them to get out of the way. Bieber, backing up, ended up hitting a photographer, Damon Walter, in the crowd. The Biebster didn’t stop and left the scene.
The photographer accused Justin Bieber’s Ferrari of knocking him down as Justin pulled away from The Laugh Factory in West Hollywood last month.
Luckily for Bieber, 19, there was a video of the entire incident, and it was reviewed exhaustively by authorities, according to E! News. The charge evaluation worksheet police who arrived at the scene filled out indicated that the police basically decided that there wasn’t any way to prove that Justin left the site of what looks like, on the video, to be a minor collision on purpose.
Also, the pop star’s attorney argued that his client was unaware that he had hit anyone. The police who examined the evidence and the video of the accident found that explanation ”reasonable and creditable.”
According to notes that the deputy investigating photographer Damon Walter’s complaint, Deputy Kaarin Axelson, read from:
There were over a dozen paparazzi surrounding his car and on the sidewalk, and it was noisy with camera flashes and bright lights surrounding him.”
Axelson continued in the report, stating:
Security had motioned for Bieber that it was clear to leave, and the video showed a clear path for the car until Walter suddenly stepped in front of it. The Ferrari’s engine is loud. The impact was minor and given the chaotic scene and stress of the situation, it is likely that Bieber did not know he had hit Walter.
“[There is] Insufficient evidence to prove that Bieber knowingly left the scene of a collision in which someone was injured.”
Police observed a scratch on Bieber’s white Ferrari consistent with Walter dropping his camera on the hood before falling down.
According to Axelson, Walter was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital at the time to be treated for two abrasions on his leg, but no other injuries were reported.
With the D.A.’s office agreeing not to file the hit-and-run charges, that’s one less thing that Justin Bieber has to worry about these days.
Credits: Douglas Cobb
Source: Guardian Express
Recent Comments