A cellphone belonging to Olympic gold medalist and TV reality star Bruce Jenner will be investigated for evidence of texting after he was involved Saturday in a four-vehicle car accident that killed a woman and injured several other motorists.
The “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star, who recently revealed he was transitioning into a woman, was being followed by paparazzi at the time of the crash, but they did not play a factor in the crash, police said, adding that neither party was speeding, a local CBS affiliate reported.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Philip Brooks said Sunday that a photo taken before the collision showed Mr. Jenner holding a cellphone, but it’s unclear exactly when the photo was taken, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Cmdr. Mike Parker said detectives and traffic investigators will examine the phone records of Mr. Jenner and other motorists involved in the crash as they try to piece together what happened.
Mr. Jenner was driving a black Cadillac SUV that was the third vehicle involved in a multiple read-end collision shortly after noon Saturday, Sgt. Brooks said.
The first vehicle was a black Toyota Prius, and the second was a white Lexus sedan. Mr. Jenner’s Escalade was towing a trailer with an all-terrain vehicle on it when it rear-ended the Lexus, Sgt. Brooks said. The Lexus spun into oncoming traffic and was hit by a Hummer H2, CNN reported.
Authorities pronounced the elderly female driver of the Lexus dead at the scene. Her identity is being withheld pending family notification, the CBS affiliate reported.
Five children and two adults were hospitalized with injuries, authorities said. Their conditions are unknown at this time.
Mr. Jenner voluntarily performed a field sobriety test and went home after passing it, Sgt. Brooks said.
Pacific Coast Highway was closed in both directions for more than nine hours. During that time a 44-year-old male driver careened through barricades at the crash site and plowed into two of the cars from the initial accident, Sgt. Matthew Dunn said. The man was arrested on suspicion of DUI, the CBS affiliate reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.