February 11, 2009 4:11 PM
- Text
Britney Charged In L.A. Parking Lot Crash
(AP)
Britney Spears' legal woes mounted Friday as prosecutors charged her with misdemeanor counts of hit and run and driving without a valid license after she allegedly smashed her car into another vehicle in a parking lot.
If convicted, the singer could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for the city attorney's office.
Messages left with Spears' attorneys were not immediately returned.
The case comes days after a court commissioner ordered Spears to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week as part of a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline. She must also meet eight hours a week with a parenting coach, who will observe and report back to the court about her parenting skills.
Meanwhile, her management firm dropped her as a client this week, and a performance at MTV's Video Music Awards that was supposed to herald her comeback was widely panned.
The fallen pop star's latest problems stem from an Aug. 6 crash in a Studio City parking lot. Paparazzi captured Spears, 25, with a puppy on her lap while steering her car into another vehicle as she tried to park her black Mercedes-Benz convertible. After assessing the damage to her car, she was caught on paparazzi video walking away.
Kim Robard-Rifkin, the owner of the other vehicle, filed a police report three days after the accident. Investigators later determined that Spears does not have a license, officials said.
"A check of state records shows that no California license has ever been issued to Ms. Spears," Velasquez said.
Robard-Rifkin, a 59-year-old registered nurse, learned it was Spears who had hit her car through a video posted on the celebrity Web site CelebTV.com.
She said she was "sort of amused and sort of shocked" when she learned Spears was the source of the damage, adding that she had expected to hear from the star's camp.
"I simply want my car fixed, the same as I would fix somebody's car if I had done that," Robard-Rifkin told the site in August.
Spears was scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 10. She is not required to appear.
Her new album is set for release Nov. 13.
If convicted, the singer could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for the city attorney's office.
Messages left with Spears' attorneys were not immediately returned.
The case comes days after a court commissioner ordered Spears to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week as part of a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline. She must also meet eight hours a week with a parenting coach, who will observe and report back to the court about her parenting skills.
Meanwhile, her management firm dropped her as a client this week, and a performance at MTV's Video Music Awards that was supposed to herald her comeback was widely panned.
The fallen pop star's latest problems stem from an Aug. 6 crash in a Studio City parking lot. Paparazzi captured Spears, 25, with a puppy on her lap while steering her car into another vehicle as she tried to park her black Mercedes-Benz convertible. After assessing the damage to her car, she was caught on paparazzi video walking away.
Kim Robard-Rifkin, the owner of the other vehicle, filed a police report three days after the accident. Investigators later determined that Spears does not have a license, officials said.
"A check of state records shows that no California license has ever been issued to Ms. Spears," Velasquez said.
Robard-Rifkin, a 59-year-old registered nurse, learned it was Spears who had hit her car through a video posted on the celebrity Web site CelebTV.com.
She said she was "sort of amused and sort of shocked" when she learned Spears was the source of the damage, adding that she had expected to hear from the star's camp.
"I simply want my car fixed, the same as I would fix somebody's car if I had done that," Robard-Rifkin told the site in August.
Spears was scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 10. She is not required to appear.
Her new album is set for release Nov. 13.
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