Lindsay's Wild Ride

Eonline.com

Lindsay Lohan could have used a little bit of that Love Bug magic Tuesday.

As it was, the Herbie: Fully Loaded star could not avoid a messy car crash in West Hollywood that left her and two others hospitalized.

Lohan, 19, was behind the wheel of her black Mercedes-Benz convertible when it struck a maroon Chevrolet Astro Van shortly before 5 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Victoria Recano, a reporter for The Insider and Entertainment Tonight, was working on a story in the area and witnessed the accident. She said that Lohan was "driving really fast" when her car collided with the other vehicle.

Lohan and her passenger, whom Recano identified as the actress' assistant, initially appeared to be unharmed and ducked into a nearby antiques store, apparently to avoid paparazzi and TV cameras, Recano said. However, according to the sheriff's department, Lohan and her passenger were later taken by ambulance to an unnamed hospital for treatment of "minor injuries." The unidentified driver of the van, meanwhile, was rushed to the hospital with "moderate injuries."

The sheriff's department is investigating the accident. A spokesman could not say whether any charges would be filed, but said that "alcohol does not appear to be a factor." There was no immediate comment Tuesday evening from the actress' publicist.

Per the incident report, the van driver had been traveling north on Robertson Boulevard in front of Lohan when he apparently made a U-turn to pull into a parking spot and was struck by the actress. His vehicle in turn slammed into a unoccupied white van parked on the street.

News footage of the scene showed Lohan's Mercedes nearly totaled, with both airbags deployed. The Astro Van was also seriously dinged up.

Javier Ramirez, an employee at the Hideaway House antiques shop, said Lohan and her passenger darted into his store following the accident. "She was very upset," Ramirez told the Associated Press. "She kept saying, 'Oh my God. Oh my God. I can't believe it.' "

According to Recano, Lohan and her companion had been walking near power lunch spot The Ivy shortly before the crash and had been mobbed by a phalanx of photographers. But Recano said none of the two dozen paparazzi at the restaurant appeared to be chasing the actress at the time of the crash.

This is Lohan's third traffic accident in the past year.

On May 31, she suffered minor injuries after a paparazzo intentionally rammed her car, according to police. The incident left Lohan "shaken up and extremely upset," her publicist said in a statement.

Photographer Galo Ramirez was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and released on $35,000 bail. He is awaiting trial.

And in February, Lohan was sued by two Los Angeles residents for rear-ending them in August 2004 and leaving them with continuing "pain, discomfort and physical disability."

That suit is pending.