Heather Locklear Arrested In Hit And Run Incident

Actress Heather Locklear was arrested for a hit and run incident in which her car seemed to have left the street and hit a sign on a sidewalk. The actress was cited for the misdemeanor offense, but not taken to jail.

About 4 am Saturday, residents on a Westlake Village, California street heard noise as a car plowed into a no parking sign on a sidewalk and then fled. Somehow police were able to trace debris from the accident to the black 2005 BMW owned by Locklear, suggesting that the front license plate must have been knocked off in the accident.

The 48 year old actress has had a history of vehicular offense problems in the past, including a DUI charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs , that was dropped in a plea arrangement deal to a lesser offense at a 2009 .

Locklear's lawyer, Blair Berk, has suggested that it has not been determined who was actually driving the BMW at the time of the accident, only that it was the automobile belonging to the actress that was at the scene of the accident. This seems to be an important legal ploy to shield the actress from any further prosecution if another DUI offense might be suspected by the authorities.

The actress has a record of being hard working and dependable in Hollywood, although she was once named as one of the worst actresses by an awards event, the Golden Raspberry Awards. Locklear is also part of the small group of conservative and Republican leaning actors in Hollywood, although she declined to be part of an AMC documentary about what it means to Republican in the largely liberal and Democratic leaning Hollywood community. Locklear was once married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee and later to guitarist Richie Sambora from Bon Jovi.

Locklear is known for being easy to work with, and well sought out in Hollywood because she tends to be mostly problem-free. However, this latest series of traffic incidents cannot be very helpful to her good image of having a strong work ethic.

This booking photo is from her 2008 DUI arrest.