Top > Entertainment > 2007 > February > 2007-02-26

Nicole Richie Charged with Drunk Driving

US reality TV star, socialite, singer, author, and daughter of singer Lionel Richie, Nicole Richie was charged on Friday with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, two months after police arrested her and said she was driving the wrong way on a Los Angeles freeway. Richie was arrested, On December 11, 2006, by the California Highway Patrol after she failed a field sobriety test and was charged with driving under the influence of drugs on California State Route 134 in Burbank, California. Several motorists had reported a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class entering the freeway on the exit ramp and traveling in the wrong direction. She admitted to using marijuana and Vicodin before the incident.

Richie had a prior DUI conviction in February 2003. She was arrested in Malibu, California and charged with possession of heroin. She was also driving with a suspended driver`s license. The California vehicle code specifies that if convicted of DUI twice within 10 years, a person can be sentenced to between 90 days and a year in jail, fined between $390 and $1,000, and have driving privileges suspended. Richie had, recently, checked herself into a treatment facility to cope with her weight-loss issues. The arrest report showed the 5-foot-1-inch actress weighed 85 pounds, at the time of the arrest. Richie has also previously undergone treatment for heroin addiction.

Last month, Richie`s co-star, Hilton pleaded no contest to alcohol-related reckless driving charges from her September 7 arrest in Hollywood. She was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines. That case was reduced from an original charge of driving under the influence.