Spears Charged With Misdemeanor Counts In Parking Lot Crash

Friday, September 21st 2007, 7:38 pm

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Britney Spears was charged Friday with misdemeanor counts of hit and run and driving without a valid license after she allegedly smashed her car into another in a parking lot in August, prosecutors said.

If convicted, the singer could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for the city attorney's office.

Messages left with Spears' attorneys were not immediately returned.

The accident occurred Aug. 6, Velasquez said.

Spears, 25, was filmed by paparazzi that day steering her car into another vehicle as she tried to turn into a spot in a Studio City parking lot. After assessing the damage to her own car only, she was shown on paparazzi video walking away.

Three days after the accident, the owner of the other vehicle filed a police report, and investigators later determined that Spears does not have a license, officials said.

Spears was scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 10, but she is not required to appear.

The case adds to the singer's woes, coming days after a court commissioner ordered her to undergo random drug and alcohol testing in her child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Her management firm also recently dropped her, and her performance at this year's MTV Video Music Awards was widely panned.