Reckless Driving

Kurt Busch, NASCAR's reigning Nextel Cup champion and no stranger to controversy, was cited for reckless driving after a confrontation with police Friday night near Phoenix International Raceway. Busch, who on Saturday qualified 17th for today's Checker Auto Parts 500 at the raceway, was detained on suspicion of drunk driving after trying to avoid another car and running a stop sign about two miles from the track, a Maricopa County sheriff's spokesman told Associated Press. Lt.

The combination of Martin Hanzal's first offense in terms of NHL law and order and Dustin Brown's (apparent) lack of injury led league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan on Wednesday to suspend Hanzal one game. Thus, the Coyotes forward will miss Game 3 of the Western Conference finals between the Kings and Coyotes on Thursday night at Staples Center. He received the supplementary discipline for his hit on the Kings' captainat 11:01 of the third period Tuesday, a five-minute major for boarding and automatic game misconduct.

Pope John Paul II says that reckless driving and speeding are sinful. Drivers have a "moral and religious duty" to protect the lives of others, he told Italian automobile club members who attended his weekly audience Wednesday. The pontiff said every man will have to answer before God "not only for hazardous actions that endanger one's own and other people's lives but also for ignoring road security regulations."

State lawmakers Friday moved forward with a crackdown on reckless driving by paparazzi trying to photograph celebrities, and acted to block cities from grabbing the state's share of money from traffic tickets. The two pieces of legislation were approved by the state Senate, which sent the paparazzi bill back to the Assembly to agree on amendments. AB 2479 would impose penalties of up to $5,000 with the possibility of jail time for photographers caught driving in a dangerous manner to get photos or video of celebrities.

Actress Kim Delaney pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving stemming from her arrest last month at her Malibu home. Malibu Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira sentenced Delaney, 40, to two years' summary probation and a $300 fine, plus other fines. He also ordered her to undergo safe driving counseling, said Jane Robison of the district attorney's office. Delaney's attorney, Steve Sitkoff, entered the plea; she was not in the courtroom.

Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by police led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, pleaded not guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence of drugs. King, who lives in Rialto, appeared in a Fontana courtroom and occasionally leaned on a walker because of injuries he sustained when he smashed his SUV into a San Bernardino home in April. Rialto police allege that King was driving a 2003 Ford Expedition about 100 mph before he crashed into the house.

Vice President Al Gore's son has a court date in North Carolina to face charges of speeding and reckless driving. Albert Gore III, 17, was arrested and charged Aug. 12 with driving 97 mph in a 55 mph zone and reckless driving, said 1st Sgt. A.C. Joyner of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. He was driving on a state highway in a sparsely populated area along the Outer Banks just south of Norfolk, Va., authorities said.

Police sought misdemeanor charges Wednesday against Rodney G. King -- whose videotaped beating by police led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots -- for allegedly driving recklessly while under the influence of drugs when he smashed his SUV into a house last month. "He had a sufficient amount of PCP in his system to warrant the charges," Rialto Police Sgt. Paul Wing said. On April 13, a police officer in Rialto, where King lives, saw him driving faster than 100 mph, Wing said.

A jury on Thursday found Deputy Dist. Atty. Kelly MacEachern not guilty of reckless driving in an incident in a crowded Saddleback Community College parking lot. The South County Municipal Court jury returned the verdict on the misdemeanor charge after deliberating 55 minutes and listening to two days of dramatically conflicting testimony.

Dana Point City Atty. Jerry Patterson pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving and paid a fine of $400 Thursday after agreeing to a plea bargain in connection with a drunk driving arrest Dec 15. Patterson, a former congressman, was stopped around 3 a.m. on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach and arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after he failed a field sobriety test, police said. According to a police report, Patterson was driving his 1991 Volkswagen van about 85 m.p.h.

Cyclists from across the country -- and as far away as Europe and China -- are urging a Los Angeles County judge to order a lengthy prison stretch for a former Brentwood doctor convicted of deliberately injuring two cyclists in an alleged road rage assault. In more than 270 e-mails and letters filed with the court, cycling enthusiasts condemned the actions of Christopher Thompson and argued that a tough sentence would send a strong message to hostile motorists everywhere. Though some of the writers described themselves as friends of the victims, many said they had no connection to the case.

A physician accused of deliberately injuring two cyclists by slamming on his car's brakes on a narrow Brentwood road was convicted Monday of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and other serious criminal charges. Dr. Christopher Thompson, 60, slumped forward and held his face in his hands after the verdicts were announced in a courtroom packed mostly with supporters and cyclists. Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary Stone, who prosecuted the case, asked for Thompson to be jailed immediately, calling him a flight risk and a safety threat to cyclists.

A doctor charged with assault for allegedly slamming on his car brakes in front of two cyclists in Brentwood testified Wednesday that he never intended to hurt anyone but stopped his vehicle to photograph riders who were cycling dangerously. Christopher Thompson, a veteran emergency room physician, said a group of cyclists flipped him off and yelled profanities when he overtook them last year as they rode three abreast down Mandeville Canyon Road, a narrow residential street that is popular with bike riders.

A cyclist testified Friday that he was run off the road by a physician seven months before the doctor allegedly injured two other cyclists on the same Brentwood street when he slammed on the brakes of his car in front of them. Patrick Early, an advertising consultant, said he was riding up Mandeville Canyon Road when a speeding red Infiniti honked aggressively and passed inches from his bicycle, forcing him into a gutter. Early identified Dr. Christopher Thompson in court as the driver and accused him of shouting a profanity and telling him to get off the road.

A bicyclist testified Friday that a Brentwood doctor deliberately slammed on his car brakes in an effort to injure him and a companion last year as they rode down a narrow stretch of Mandeville Canyon Road in Brentwood. Christian Stoehr recalled hearing the engine noise of an approaching car and then an "angry honk" of a horn. When he and a fellow rider fell into single file to let the driver past, Stoehr testified that the motorist zoomed up alongside them, exchanged angry words and then pulled in front of them and hit his brakes.

After slamming on his car brakes in front of two cyclists riding down a narrow stretch of Mandeville Canyon Road and injuring them, Christopher Thomas Thompson gave police the impression that the incident this summer was no accident. The 59-year-old physician said he stopped his red Infiniti sedan in front of the cyclists to "teach them a lesson," a police officer testified Thursday at Thompson's preliminary hearing.

Fitness guru Jack LaLanne has pleaded no contest to a charge of alcohol-related reckless driving. An attorney entered the plea for the 76-year-old LaLanne after prosecutors agreed to drop a more serious misdemeanor charge of drunk driving. Under the agreement, LaLanne will be placed on probation for one year, pay a $525 fine and attend eight hours of alcohol education classes, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Medeiros.

Too much TV: A British truck driver who careened down a highway in northern England while watching episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" on a laptop computer atop his dashboard was slapped with a 15-month license suspension Friday.

SACRAMENTO -- State Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving Friday and was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay $710 in fines and court fees. The court decision came as the California Highway Patrol released tapes of 911 calls from worried motorists who reported Migden driving erratically on eastbound Interstate 80, between Berkeley and Sacramento, on May 18.