USA: ACTRESS HALLE BERRY PLACED ON THREE YEAR'S PROBATION AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO CHARGE OF LEAVING SCENE OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENT

Record ID: 472616

  • Title: USA: ACTRESS HALLE BERRY PLACED ON THREE YEAR'S PROBATION AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO CHARGE OF LEAVING SCENE OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
  • Date: 10th May 2000
  • Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) BERRY AT RECENT FILM PREMIERE
  • Embargoed: 25th May 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEVERLY HILLS, UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA3FAWW67L89FVMYPOEYOMQO9ZX
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Actress Halle Berry was placed on three years' probation and ordered to pay $14,000 (usd) in fines and penalties after pleading no contest on Wednesday (May 10) to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of a traffic accident.
    Beverly Hills Superior Court judge Charles Rubin also ordered the actress to perform 200 hours of community service and to make restitution in "all civil matters" arising from the February accident, in which Berry and another driver were both injured.
    In California, a plea of "no contest" carries the same weight as a conviction although the defendant has not admitted guilt.
    Berry, 33, said she was "very relieved" that the "true facts" had come out in the case, referring to the conclusion by investigators that there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol involved in the crash.
    Berry, who starred in the film "Bulworth," had faced a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.
    The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Berry was driving a rented Chevrolet Blazer on Feb. 23 when she ran a red light and crashed into another car on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. The actress, who left the scene of the accident before authorities arrived, suffered a gash to her head that required 20 stitches to close, and the woman driving the other vehicle broke her wrist.
    That woman, Hetal Raythatha, has since sued the actress in a civil suit seeking damages. The lawsuit alleged that Berry had been driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which the actress has denied.
    In charging Berry with a misdemeanor rather than a felony hit-and-run charge, prosecutors said they took into account the fact that she reported the accident to a police officer at the hospital where she sought treatment and her statement that the crash had left her in a dazed state.
    Berry will next appear in the Twentieth Century Fox film X-Men, which opens in theatres in July.
    ---ENDS---
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register