July 31, 2008

Shia LaBeouf Was Encouraged To Flee Crash Scene But Refused

By Gil Kaufman (MTV.com)

It's one of those dilemmas that sounds like it could have come right out of a movie: A young rising Hollywood star is in a late-night car crash involving alcohol and sees a chance to flee the scene and ditch responsibility.

According to a report on AccessHollywood.com, such a scenario played out early Sunday morning, when Shia LaBeouf was involved in a car crash that police now say was not his fault.

An alleged eyewitness to the crash, Brian Perrulli, told the site that he had arrived on the scene after the crash and stopped to help when he overheard the man who was in the vehicle LaBeouf hit telling the actor to leave the scene.

"Shia was tending to the other people in the car, signing over information, like insurance and stuff, and basically, I overheard the guy tell him, 'You should just get out of here and go,' and Shia said, 'Nah, man. I gotta deal with this. My license plate, it's my car. I don't wanna go; I gotta deal with this,'" Perrulli said. The eyewitness added that the unnamed person from the other vehicle promised the Indiana Jones star that he would cover for him.

"The guy Shia hit told him, 'You should get outta here,' and 'I never saw you,' " Perrulli claimed. "He said, 'I never saw you,' and Shia said, 'No, man, I gotta stay here and deal with this. It's my problem.' "

Perrulli also claimed that LaBeouf - who authorities said appeared clearly intoxicated at the scene, after reportedly partying at a nearby nightclub in the hours before the crash - did not appear to be drunk to him. Police now say the accident occurred because the other car ran a red light.

"He looked more disoriented and shocked more than drunk," Perrulli said. "I wouldn't have thought he was drunk."