Singer Justin Bieber cited for driving in 'reckless manner' on freeway
Bieber was pulled over in a Fisker Karma sports car about 10:45 a.m. by CHP officers on the 101 at Vineland Avenue and Ventura Boulevard. The 18-year-old was allegedly weaving in and out of traffic.
CHP Officer Ming Hsu said the entertainer was driving in excess of 65 mph, but said his precise speed was not available.
According to Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, who called 911 to report the incident, paparazzi were pursuing Bieber on the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley. The singer cut from the fast lane to the slow lane and even onto the shoulder before the California Highway Patrol pulled him over, Zine said.
Zine, who spent 33 years in the Los Angeles Police Department and is a reserve officer, said he was headed downtown from the West Valley when he saw the silver sports car being chased by several cars.
"I didn't know it was Justin Bieber until later," Zine said. "He was going from the fast lane to the slow lane to the shoulder in traffic. It was a very dangerous driving situation. I figured someone was going to crash, so I called 911."
CHP officers reported seeing at least one other car chasing Bieber, but that vehicle fled the scene when the singer was stopped.
Zine said Bieber admitted to driving 80 mph. The councilman said he understands the problems celebrities have with paparazzi and sponsored a city law to curb the aggressive behavior. Still, he said, that's no excuse.
"Any time you do 90, the paparazzi are goin! g to go 90," Zine said.
He said he believes the singer and the tabloid photographers should have been arrested for reckless driving. "This reminds me of the Princess Diana situation," Zine said.
In 2010, California lawmakers stiffened penalties for paparazzi caught driving recklessly to photograph celebrities.
It is Bieber's latest scrape with the law in Los Angeles. The district attorney's office is already reviewing allegations that he battered a paparazzo during a confrontation in Calabasas.
Detectives have been investigating claims by the photographer that Bieber struck him after he snapped photographs of the singer and girlfriend Selena Gomez at The Commons at Calabasas shopping center in May.
The photographer complained of pain and was taken by the Los Angeles County Fire Department to a hospital, where he was treated and released, officials said.