Charges Dropped Against Britney Spears for Hit and Run Accident

Ray McDonald
Voice of America
October 26, 2007

Britney Spears no longer faces hit-and-run charges after compensating a driver in the wake of an August 6 parking lot accident.

On October 25, Superior Court Commissioner Susan Speer dismissed the charge, after a lawyer for the pop star said his client had paid an undisclosed amount to a woman whose car Spears hit in the mishap. A charge of driving without a license has not been dismissed, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for November 26. The commissioner accepted a not guilty plea entered by lawyer Michael Flanagan on Spears' behalf.

Outside court, Flanagan said Assistant City Attorney Michael Amerian had offered Spears a plea deal involving the license charge that would have resulted in her being placed on one year's probation. Flanagan said he believed a plea was unnecessary, as Spears had recently rectified the situation by obtaining a California driver's license. He said Spears previously had a license in Louisiana but did not have one in California, as a camera was not available at the Department of Motor Vehicles when she applied for a license well before the accident.

Flanagan said he had not spoken to Spears for a few days. He said the owner of the car that was hit was satisfied with the resolution and did not want to go forward with the hit-and-run charge.

Paparazzi photographed Spears steering her car into another vehicle as she attempted to park. Their footage showed her walking away after assessing the damage to her own car.