Pop star Justin Bieber was cited for speeding on a Southern California freeway Friday after a trying to evade paparazzi in a high-speed chase, according to news reports from Los Angeles.
L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine, a former police officer, told CNN affiliate KABC-TV that he witnessed the incident on the South 101 Freeway in Studio City and reported it to the California Highway Patrol.
He said Bieber was traveling at about 100 mph in his Fisker Karma hybrid.
"It was like a rocket ship coming by, I'm not exaggerating when I say that," KABC quoted Zine as saying. "When it passed me, it had to be going close to 100 mph."
Zine told the Los Angeles Times that the chase between Bieber and the paparazzi spread across the freeway and even on to the shoulder.
"It was like slot cars, they were going so fast," the Times quoted Zine as saying. "It was a very dangerous driving situation. I figured someone was going to crash, so I called 911."
CHP spokesman Saul Gomez told Reuters that Bieber was cited for driving 80 mph in a 65 mph zone.
CHP officer Ming Hsu said an officer saw a car pursuing Bieber but that it fled when Bieber was stopped.
The incident drew a crowd on the roadway, one witness told KABC, with motorists stopping to take Bieber's picture.
Zine told the Times the paparazzi should have been cited as well as the 18-year-old singer, but he said the pursuing photographers were no reason for Bieber to speed.
"Anytime you do 90, the paparazzi are going to go 90," Zine was quoted as saying.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
He's not even an American citizen, he should be deported.
This is the most stupid comment I've ever seen. Your government may be supporting your mother with the tax dollar levied from the Bieber kid directly or indirectly. I'm not saying this in defense of Bieber. I do not like him and I'm at least 10 to 15 years older than him.
Why a Canadian would live in the USA is beyond me. I lived there once and you couldn't pay me to ever come back. i wish he would return and all Canadians who are living in the land of the arrogant.
Nah, he's an ignorant fool......he's right at home over there.
If there ever was a totally worthless news item on CNN, this is it.
At what point do we hold paparazzi responsible for stalking our movie, music, media and sports stars. The Princess Diana lesson appears to have been long forgotten. Sad.
UM the kid makes millions. he has enough money to hire a full entourage of body guards if he wants, and trust me, the celebs work the paparazzi for their own benefit. Regardless, there is zero excuse for him or anyone else to endanger everyone else's lives by driving like this. If he has an issue with the paparazzi, call the police, get a restraining order - you don't HAVE to drive 100 MPH in a major, populated city. I swear, between the pregnancy drama, hitting a camera guy in Calabasas, and now driving recklessly, Bieber's PR team sure seems like they are trying hard to give him some street cred and he's a suburban white kid from CANADA....ridic
What is he, a "James Dean' wannabe? Yeah, Justin, wrap yourself around a tree. Go out in a blaze of glory. That's the only way you'll have lasting fame anyway.
i guess you didn't see the HUGE chunk of the article making it clear that he was being pursued by stalking freaks who put everyone else in danger because they can't leave the kid alone.
Gimme a break, I was getting a favor from a guy friend!
Bad behavior is surfacing..and that is bad. Usher..you better do something.
How slow a news day does it need to be for CNN to put this nonsense on the front page?
And this is why I usually end up at BBC News... when I want to get real news and not stupid celebrity fluff
Deport the white boy back to Canada – the "great white north".
and where should we deport you since you pointed out that he's white? Africa or Mexico?
He should have been Treated Like a King.
Is CNN serious? This is news? What about Barclays and all the major world banks and the investigation?
more main stream media misdirection
Normally I'd be the first one to say "screw Bieber." He does really suck, and he was being really stupid. But this is an example of what celebrities have to go through to have ANY amount of privacy. Apparently no one learned from what happened to Princess Diana.
But – celebrities get super rich and live like kings & queens due to people liking them. They can always quit and become electronics salespeople or something and not be so recognized. Go buy an island somewhere or other hideaway. You got the cash. Otherwise, too damn bad.
the paps are not pushing the gas pedal! I mean seriously people! if the paparazzi are harassing someone, the answer is to call the police, not get in a car and drive 100 MPH - Even Princess Di's driver was driving recklessly (and likely drunk). its not necessary to drive at high speeds to get away from the paparazzi - people have their low drama options but high speed chases promote publicity for poor poor justina so why would he choose a low drama/legal resolution to his paparazzi problem?
I suppose the media is going to report the next time he has a hangnail then?
And they say that the American media is useless. Oh wait, I said that.
Your 15 minutes of fame is up little boy. We are not into 16 minutes..time to send you and your teenie bopper fans back to Canada. wev've had enough of your antics.