Pop star Justin
Bieber on Wednesday called the death of a paparazzo, who was chasing his
white Ferrari in Los Angeles, a tragic accident and said he hoped it
would spur action to safeguard the lives of celebrities, police and
photographers.Police said the freelance
photographer, whose name has not officially been released, was killed by
a.....
nother driver on Tuesday evening after he crossed a busy highway to
snap pictures of the Ferrari that had been stopped by police for
speeding.
Bieber, 18, was not in the sports car, which was reportedly being driven by a friend.
"While
I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my
thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim," the "Boyfriend"
singer said in statement.
Bieber,
who is followed day and night by photographers, said he hoped the
incident "will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other
necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police
officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves."
Celebrity
website TMZ.com said the photographer was following the Ferrari after
seeing it pulling out of a Beverly Hills hotel on Tuesday evening,
believing Bieber was inside the car.
Los
Angeles police said the photographer was seen taking pictures of the
traffic stop and was ordered by highway patrol officers to return to his
car for safety reasons. He was struck by another motorist while trying
to cross four lanes of traffic.
Bieber
was stopped by police for speeding on a Los Angeles freeway last July,
when the Canadian teen sensation told police he was being hounded by
paparazzi.
But a Los Angeles judge
in November threw out criminal charges against the photographer who was
charged in that case under a new California law aimed at cracking down
on aggressive photographers and celebrity media. Judge Thomas Robinson
called the 2010 law "problematic" and "overly inclusive."
The
death on Tuesday brought calls from some other celebrities for a halt
to the sometimes 24/7 tracking of their activities at work, home and
leisure.
Singer Miley Cyrus, 20, a
frequent paparazzi target, sent out a stream of Twitter messages,
referencing the death of Britain's Princess Diana in a 1997 car crash
while being chased by paparazzi in Paris.
"Hope
this paparazzi/JB accident brings on some changes in '13 Paparazzi are
dangerous! Wasn't Princess Di enough of a wake up call?!" Cyrus tweeted.
"This
was bound to happen! Your mom teaches u when your a child not to play
in the street! The chaos that comes with the paparazzi acting like fools
makes it impossible for anyone to make safe choices," Cyrus added.
