Filmmaker Involved in Fatal Car Accident
AP
Posted: 2007-08-25 11:19:56
Filed Under: Movie News
LOS ANGELES (Aug. 24) - Oscar-nominated director John Singleton was driving a Lexus SUV when it struck and killed a jaywalker who stepped in front of the car, police said Friday.
Producer John Singleton, seen here at a movie premiere in New York City on Aug. 20, struck a jaywalker Thursday night in Los Angeles, according to police. The victim, a 57-year-old woman, died the next morning in a hospital.
Singleton, 39, immediately stopped his car and waited for police to arrive after the accident Thursday night in the city's Jefferson Park neighborhood, said Officer Jason Lee , a police spokesman.
"Mr. Singleton stopped and identified himself as required by law and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol," Lee said. "He was questioned and released."
The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead Friday morning, Lee said. She was identified as Constance Russell, 57, of Los Angeles.
Other details were not immediately released, and an after-hours call to Singleton's agent was not immediately returned.
Singleton, whose debut film, 1991's "Boyz N The Hood," earned him two Oscar nominations, has also directed "Poetic Justice," "Shaft," and "2 Fast 2 Furious." He was the producer of "Hustle & Flow," "Black Snake Moan" and the just-released "Illegal Tender."