Celebs Have Long History Of Auto Issues

Many people follow celebrities because they wait for the figurative "car wreck," when they bring unwanted attention to themselves and get into some degree of trouble.

And while people get into car accidents everyday, when it happens to a celebrity, people start to pay significantly more attention to it.

The most recent celebrity accident was on Aug. 3, when Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman rolled his car several times in rural Mississippi. The accident required the Jaws of Life to extricate Freeman -- who broke his arm in the accident -- and his passenger.

While Freeman was the most recently celebrity to wreck his car, others have put themselves -- and others -- in serious trouble. Here are just some of the celebrity automobile wrecks, according to the Web site celebratetoday.com

Sept. 30, 1955: Iconic actor James Dean was killed in a car accident in California while driving his Porsche 550 Spyder.

Dec. 31, 1984: Drummer Rick Allen of Def Leppard lost his left arm in a car accident in England on New Year's Eve.

July 5, 1994: Public Enemy's Flavor Flav was arrested in New York following a minor traffic accident. Police discovered he was driving on a license that had been suspended 43 times.

Aug. 28, 1994: James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, was ticketed for hitting a bicyclist while driving in his hometown of Augusta, Ga. The bicyclist was unhurt. Brown was also involved in an incident where he led police on a two-state car chase, sentenced to six years in prison for failing to stop.

Aug. 30, 1994: Rapper Dr. Dre was sentenced to eight months in jail after he pleaded no contest to drunken driving charges resulting from a high-speed chase through Beverly Hills, Calif., in January.

Aug. 17, 1996: Singer Bobby Brown was involved in a one-car traffic accident in Hollywood, Fla. Later in December, police charged him with driving while under the influence of alcohol, cocaine and marijuana.

April 24, 2000: Gwyneth Paltrow rear-ended a car that was stopped on a West Hollywood street. She was later sued by the two occupants for $4,000 in car damages, $8,000 in medical expenses, as well as pain and suffering.

April 25, 2002: Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez of the multi-platinum R&B trio TLC was killed in a car crash in Honduras as a result of speeding under the influence of alcohol or Ecstasy, according to news reports.

Feb. 20, 2003: Former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and his wife were injured in a motorcycle accident blamed on a strong gust of wind. The two were riding along Sepulveda Boulevard on Hasselhoff's Harley Davidson near a freeway overpass when the wind gust caused him to lose control of the bike. As he was trying to regain control, the motorcycle ran into a curb, throwing the couple from the bike. The actor fractured his lower back and broke several ribs.

Feb. 26, 2006: George Michael was arrested when he was found semi-conscious in his car and in the possession of marijuana. He was released on bail and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs.

July 20, 2006: Haley Joel Osment was arrested for marijuana possession and driving under the influence after driving his 1995 Saturn into a telephone pole.

Aug. 21, 2007: Bill Murray was stopped on suspicion of DUI in Sweden -- while behind the wheel of a golf cart. Golf.com reported that police officers spotted the "Caddyshack" star early Monday in the slow-moving vehicle and noticed he smelled of alcohol when they pulled him over.