On Jan. 1, 2013, a man was killed while trying to take photos of Justin Bieber’s white Ferrari. The singer, who was not in the car when the incident took place, responded by offering his condolences to the victim and his family.
“While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim… Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent bystanders, and the photographers themselves,” said the statement.
Bieber’s words reflect the feelings of many in the public eye who believe the paparazzi have become too brazen in their efforts to obtain a profitable image and engage in reckless behavior to do so.
Miley Cyrus also commented on the man’s death, but was much less compassionate with her words, tweeting, “Hope this paparazzi/JB accident brings on some changes in ’13 Paparazzi are dangerous! Wasn’t Princess Di enough of a wake up call?!”
She added, “It is unfair for anyone to put this on to Justin’s conscious as well! 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.”
The man was hit by another car on Sepulveda Blvd. near Getty Center Dr. just prior to 6 p.m. PT when he exited his vehicle to snap an image of Bieber’s exotic car, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Bieber’s Ferrari had been pulled to the side of the 405 Freeway by the Calif. Highway Patrol for a traffic stop. The driver of the superstar’s car was then instructed to drive off the freeway and onto Sepulveda.
The photographer died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
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