by Lia Haberman
Nov 20, 2003
Michelle Rodriguez's holiday plans go something like this: Trim tree, exchange gifts, appear in court.
The Fast and the Furious star is expected in Los Angeles Superior Court on December 29 to face eight misdemeanor charges related to--we kid you not--her bad driving habits.
The charges stem from two separate occasions:
On July 22, she was involved in a fender bender at a red light on Hollywood Boulevard, according to a spokesperson with the city attorney's office. Rodriguez spoke briefly to the occupants of the other car but never exchanged insurance info before taking off.
"There were some minor injuries and a passenger in the other car was taken to the hospital," said Frank Mateljan.
That led to charges of hit-and-run and failure to exchange insurance information, plus because Rodriguez was driving with a suspended New Jersey license (the result of some unpaid parking tickets) she was further charged with driving with a suspended license and driving without a valid license.
On November 4, the actress was busted by cops after speeding through a Hollywood Boulevard intersection. She was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and driving without a valid license.
If convicted, Rodriguez faces up to six months maximum on each count. And at the very least should be forced to find a new route home and stop terrorizing the drivers on Hollywood Boulevard.
A call to her rep was not returned.
It's not the first brush with the law for the feisty thesp. She was arrested for pounding on her roommate in 2002, though the charges of simple assault and making a terrorist threat were later dropped when the woman declined to press the allegations in court.
Rodriguez's fisticuffs were legit in her 2000 debut Girlfight. She then continued to play tough-cookie characters in flicks such as Resident Evil, Blue Crush and S.W.A.T.. Next up, she's expected to star in Control opposite Ray Liotta and lend her voice to the animated Sian Ka'an, both scheduled for 2004 releases.
The BLUE CRUSH star originally got into trouble for leaving the scene of an accident in July (03) after she ran into another motorist.
And then she was pulled over by police on the same stretch of road earlier this month (04NOV03) after she was caught speeding.
Police discovered that the actress' driving privilege was suspended at the time and she was under the influence of alcohol.
Rodriguez is due in a Los Angeles court to answer the charges in late December (03).
NY Daily News
The charges stem from two incidents. On July 22, "She rear-ended another vehicle on Hollywood Boulevard at a red light," said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the L.A. city attorney's office. She was charged with hit-and-run, driving with a suspended license, driving without a valid license and failure to exchange insurance information.
On Nov. 4, she was stopped by L.A. police after speeding through a Hollywood Boulevard intersection, said Mateljan. She was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and driving without a valid license. Rodriguez's rep did not return calls.
