Ontario police claim pop star got into “physical altercation” with minivan driver
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber faces charges of assault and dangerous driving after a car collision in rural Ontario.
Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on Tuesday said Bieber, 20, of Calabasas, Calif., was charged and released on a promise to appear in a Stratford, Ontario, courtroom on Sept. 29.
The OPP said they responded on Friday afternoon to a report of a collision between a minivan and an all-terrain vehicle.
“Investigation revealed that after colliding, the driver of the ATV and an occupant of the minivan engaged in a physical altercation,” the OPP said in a press statement.
Brian Greenspan, Bieber’s Toronto lawyer, in a statement blamed the incident on a highway run-in with a local photographer.
“Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez’ peaceful retreat in Stratford this weekend was unfortunately interrupted by the unwelcome presence of paparazzi,” he said.
Greenspan added Bieber and Gomez fully cooperated in the police investigation.
Bieber grew up around Stratford.
The Canadian-born pop star was on holiday in Perth County with girlfriend Selena Gomez over the weekend.
Bieber is scheduled to appear in a Toronto court on Sept. 8 to answer a separate assault charge stemming from an incident with a Toronto limousine driver on Dec. 30, 2013.
Sept. 2, 2:20 p.m. A statement from Justin Bieber’s lawyer has been added to this story.
