Friday, 13 April 2007

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James Blunt won't be prosecuted in car accident

No hit and run charge for the singer

Singer James Blunt won't be charged with hit and run for an incident in which he allegedly ran over a photographer's foot outside a pre-Oscar party in February, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

"Based on the information we have been given so far, we have decided not to file [charges]," Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the L.A. City Attorney tells PEOPLE. "We reserve the right to file charges at any time. But at this time we have no plans to file anything."

Adds Blunt's lawyer, Steven M. Cron: "He was never charged with anything. ... He is very happy about that."

TMZ.com was first to report that Blunt would not be charged.

The accident took place at 1:58 am on Feb. 24 outside the home of CAA agent Brian Lourd, where Blunt and then-girlfriend Petra Nemcova had been guests at a party.

The Los Angeles mansion is home to an annual Oscar-eve bash that is a magnet for A-listers. This year's attendees included Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, Madonna and George Clooney.

Surrounded by paparazzi and autograph seekers, Blunt did his best to drive away, says Cron. "It was a crazy situation, as you can imagine," the lawyer says. "He wanted to get out of that mess."

"Mr. Blunt is totally innocent," adds Cron. "I'm not 100 percent sure that anyone was even hit by a car. The circumstances were so harried that there was no way in the world for him to know if he had contact with anyone."

Blunt and Nemcova split in February. Since then, Blunt has been a regular on the Hollywood club scene while Nemcova has busied herself with her charity effort, the Happy Hearts Fund, which benefits children affected by natural disasters.