Los Angeles police are investigating a car crash and traffic stop involving heiress Paris Hilton to determine if officers allowed her friend to drive while drunk, a police spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
A videotape released by celebrity Web site TMZ.com shows what appears to be Hilton’s companion, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, slamming a Bentley into the back of a truck as the couple left a Hollywood nightclub early with at least two other people.
The tape shows the damaged car speeding away from the scene as bystanders and photographers scatter. Later, Niarchos is seen speaking to Los Angeles police officers who have pulled him over. One holds him by the elbow.
The officers then allow Niarchos and Hilton to leave with their friends, identified by TMZ as rocker Rod Stewart’s daughter Kimberly Stewart and Talan Torriero, star of MTV’s reality show “Laguna Beach.”
It was not clear who was driving the Bentley at that point but Torriero is heard telling his friends, “I’m the only sober one, lets just go.” Hilton is seen blowing a kiss to one of the police and saying, “Thank you officer — we love the police,” before she steps into the car.
A spokesman for Hilton declined comment.
“We’re trying to determine what happened,” said Los Angeles police spokeswoman Grace Brady said. “There have been callers alleging that this person was driving under the influence and that LAPD may have allowed them to drive away.”
An administrative investigation was underway, she said.
