The paparazzi pursuit of Justin Bieber along Los Angeles freeways is a "tragedy waiting to happen," a Los Angeles city councilman warned.
Dennis Zine, who has sponsored tougher punishment for photographers who break the law while staking celebrities, witnessed an example Friday of why the practice is so dangerous.
"I expected to see a crash," said Zine, a 33-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and still a reserve officer. "The danger is of someone getting killed."
Bieber's Fisker Karma - a $100,000 electric sports car - looked like a silver bullet as it zoomed past Zine at 100 mph on U.S. 101 Friday morning, he said. "He was coming up behind me, making abrupt lane changes, not giving signals, cutting off cars."
Four or five other cars followed close behind, apparently carrying photographers stalking Bieber, he said. "They were close by, at a rapid speed, all of them."
"It's like a miracle that nothing happened," Zine said. "It was mere luck that no one got involved in a collision."
FULL STORYPop 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.
The Billboard Music Awards aired Sunday night on ABC with a bevy of top performances from music’s luminaries.
Rihanna. Taylor Swift. Lady Antebellum. Justin Bieber. All the big names won awards. But as it goes with awards shows, it was the performances that made the show.
Keith Urban turned in a spirited performance of "Long Hot Summer." Mary J Blige and Lil Wayne performed "Someone to Love." The Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj all took turns on the stage.
Beyonce, who took home the Billboard Millennium Award, rocked the place into a frenzy. The singer delighted fans with a fiery performance of her new single, “Who Run the World (Girls)" before receiving the award from her mother, Tina Knowles.
On Twitter Sunday night, the event’s goings-on were heavily and hilariously tweeted, with Lady Antebellum, Billboards, Black Eyed Peas and Fergie all being top Twitter topics.
In February the social networking site was posited by Twitter CEO Dick Costolo as a “second screen” alongside live TV shows, turning television broadcasts into interactive social networking affairs.
And Sunday night was no exception. The hilarious tweets were coming rapidly.
BobbyJamess tweeted, "That awkward moment when Tina Knowles is trending & Beyoncé isn't."
It was that kind of night.
Beyonce's performance Sunday capped an impressive week in which she debuted the long-form version of the lead single from her forthcoming album, "4," and released the cover art for the project.
“I first want to start off by thanking my foundation, my family," she said. "I like to thank my father for teaching me so much about the music industry ... I like to thank (former Destiny's Child members) Kelly and Michelle," she said.
Rihanna won top female artist, screaming “Rihanna Naveeeey," an endearing term for her legion of fans, into the mic in what passed for a short acceptance speech.
Miley as Bieber - Miley Cyrus talking to herself got big laughs on "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend. Well, it was Miley as Justin Bieber talking to Vanessa Bayer as Miley Cyrus, actually.
Travel trouble - This week is brought to you by the letter T - which stands for turkey, travel and TSA. Backlash against the Transportation Security Administration's pat-downs is swelling as millions get ready to travel for the holiday. Some of the criticism: A North Carolina cancer survivor recalls having to show a screener her prosthetic breast. There's video on the Web of a screener patting down what appears to be a shirtless child while his frustrated father looks on.
While Republican Rep. John Mica of Florida, ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, insists the system must change, the TSA chief John Pistole says pat-downs are necessary to stop weapon-smuggling terrorists. One CNN.com reporter traveled more than 5,000 miles to see the situation from airport officials' point of view. And it wasn't pretty.
Gas prices up - If news about airport hassles makes you want to drive, know that there's hassle in that option, too. Gas prices are about 23 cents higher than this time last year, clocking a national average of $2.87 per gallon for self-serve unleaded gas, says publisher Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey.
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