General Hospital

"General Hospital" star Haley Pullos is being sued over the car crash from her recent DUI arrest ... the driver she smashed into says it's her fault he went to the hospital.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, a man named Courtney Wilder claims Haley plowed into his car last month while driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.

Wilder says the car he was driving behind barely swerved to avoid Haley's car as she drove the wrong way on a freeway offramp ... but he claims he didn't have time to react when he saw headlights coming his way and crashed head-on into Haley. He says he ended up getting transported to a hospital in critical condition.

TMZ broke the story ... cops said Haley was driving on a freeway in Pasadena on April 29, when she swerved into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with another car that cops say was going about 60 mph.

Police say they searched Haley's car and found weed edibles and mini-bottles of tequila ... and she was arrested for felony DUI when she was taken to a hospital. Cops said she reeked of booze, had watery eyes and slurred speech.

The lawsuit also references what we first reported ... cops said Haley hit a firefighter who was assessing her injuries and shouted, "This is a $400 f***ing shirt!" Wilder slams the comment, claiming Haley cared more about an "overpriced shirt" than the safety and well-being of the crash victims.

In the docs, Wilder claims Haley should have stopped driving when she got into a hit-and-run earlier that night ... and he says she never should have been behind the wheel after mixing alcohol with weed edibles.

Wilder says the crash caused lasting injuries to his body and severe damage to his car, which was totaled ... and he's going after Haley for damages.

Haley Pullos, known for her work on "General Hospital," was arrested for a DUI after allegedly causing a major freeway wreck ... one she's lucky to have survived, based on some horrific crash scene photos.

Haley, who plays Molly Lansing-Davis on the long-running soap opera, told Soap Opera Digest last week that she was taking a break from the show to recover from a car accident -- but according to a police report, Haley left out a few key details.

In the document, obtained by TMZ, cops say Haley was driving on a freeway in Pasadena on April 29 ... when she swerved, flew over the dividing barrier, and into oncoming traffic.

She ended up colliding head-on with another car that was going about 60 mph.

When cops arrived at the crash scene, they say Haley was unable to exit her car. Firefighters helped free her and got her into an ambulance .... where things got weird and a little violent.

Police say a firefighter was assessing her injuries when she struck him and shouted, "This is a $400 f***ing shirt!"

When they searched her car, cops say they found weed edibles and mini-bottles of tequila.

Haley was taken to the hospital ... cops met her there and say she showed clear signs she'd been driving under the influence -- noting the smell of alcohol on her breath, slurred speech, and watery eyes.

She was arrested for felony DUI while still at the hospital ... and cops note she got aggressive and fought hospital staff. They eventually had to sedate her.

The driver of the other car survived but was hospitalized with major injuries.

What's more ... cops tell TMZ Haley was also involved in a hit-and-run traffic collision before her gruesome freeway crash.

Pasadena Fire Dept. shared pics of the accident, warning people not to drink and drive.

Sonya Eddy, known for her work on "General Hospital," has died ... according to her close friend Octavia Spencer.

Octavia shared the sad news on social media Tuesday ... telling the world her friend passed away the night before. She says, "The world lost another creative angel" ... noting her "legions" of fans will truly miss her. The cause of her death is unclear.

Sonya was truly a staple of "General Hospital" starting in 2006, appearing in 543 episodes of the long-running soap opera. Fans remember her playing Epiphany Johnson, a no-nonsense head nurse that was the mother of the late Stan Johnson, who got wrapped up in the mob.

Apart from the soap, Sonya's been working in the industry for decades -- starting in 1995 on "The Drew Carey Show," and going on to appear in projects like "Seinfeld," "Patch Adams," "Reba," "Monk," "Joan of Arcadia," "CSI," "Glee," "Castle," and "Fresh Off The Boat."

She was 55.

RIP

"General Hospital" star Steve Burton is pulling the plug on his marriage after 23 years ... TMZ has learned.

Steve beelined it to court and filed docs to divorce his pregnant wife Sheree Gustin, who he has previously accused of having another man's baby.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Steve lists March 1 as the date of separation ... and he's citing the usual "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split.

As we reported ... Steve claimed in May that Sheree was having a baby, but the baby-to-be wasn't his.

Steve and Sheree tied the knot way back in January 1999 and they have 3 kids together ... including 2 minor children in 16-year-old Jack and 8-year-old Brooklyn.

Steve is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the kids.

"General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco had some bad luck on Friday the 13th ... her home went up in flames, thanks to a cigarette that ignited the blaze.

Kelly tells TMZ ... she woke up late Friday morning to a fire raging on her front yard, with flames licking her windows. The flames quickly engulfed portions of the house.

Kelly was able to escape ... but the house did not fare well. The blaze caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to her Sherman Oaks home. It won't be livable for quite a while.

Kelly says she turned her security footage over to law enforcement and we're told arson investigators were able to determine the fire was started by someone tossing a lit cigarette butt on the empty lot next to her home. The investigators believe the fire was not started intentionally.

Talk about bad luck on Friday the 13th.

Kelly, who has appeared on soap operas for 22 years and counting, says she's been a part of some pretty wild stories on set ... but none of the scripts compare to living through a massive fire at her home.

She's got a message now that she's come face-to-face with flames ... "Something as little as a cigarette butt can cause casualties and devastation."

Lindsey Pearlman, the "Empire" and "General Hospital" actress who was found dead in her car Friday ... had a history of depression before committing suicide ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Lindsey called her husband, Vance Smith, the day before her body was found, saying she was intent on ending her life. Her husband contacted police in a frantic effort to find Lindsey. He never saw her alive again.

We're told Lindsey drove to the base of Runyon Canyon in Hollywood -- a popular hiking spot -- and swallowed enough pills to fatally overdose. A hiker came upon her car last Friday, saw her body inside and called police.

We've learned Lindsey left a suicide note at her home and also left a note in her car ... telling whoever found her to call 911.

Investigators learned Lindsey suffered from bouts of depression over the years, and it appears it just became too overwhelming.

After her body was found, Lindsey's sister posted the phone number of the National Suicide Hotline on social media and said, "Please know that you are never truly alone."

The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office says an autopsy was performed but they are requesting more tests and studies before determining an official cause of death, but our law enforcement sources say it's apparent it was a drug overdose.

Lindsey Pearlman, the actress with credits that include "Empire" and "General Hospital" was found dead 3 days after disappearing ... the LAPD now confirms.

The body of the 43-year-old was found Friday at the base of Runyon Canyon Park in Hollywood ... a very popular hiking spot. Her body was discovered inside a car.

The cause of death has not been released, but Saturday Lindsey's sister said on Twitter, "Please know that you are never truly alone," as she posted the phone number to the National Suicide Hotline.

Pearlman, who also appeared on "Chicago Justice," "The Ms. Pat Show," and "Selena," was last heard from Thursday afternoon. She called her cousin and phone data shows the call was made a mile-and-a-half from where her body was discovered.

Lindsey's husband, Vance Smith, said, "The police found Lindsey. She's gone. I'm broken."

The family says to honor Lindsey -- an animal rights advocate -- please donate to the Sante d'Or, an L.A,-based animal rescue org.

Longtime soap opera actor Jay Pickett has died -- this while he was actually doing his job in front of the camera.

Jay passed Thursday on the set of a new film he was working on called "Treasure Valley" in Idaho -- so says his costar and co-producer for the flick, Jim Heffel, who shared the tragic news on Facebook ... explaining he actually died while they were preparing to shoot a scene.

He writes, "Jay died sitting on a horse ready to rope a steer in the movie Treasure Valley in Idaho. The way of a true cowboy." Not much more was discussed as to how he ended up toppling over, but it sounds like it was sudden ... and an official cause of death isn't out yet.

Another star from the movie, Travis Mills, took to his own FB page to speculate it appeared to be a heart attack of some sort, while also noting everyone around at the time tried hard to keep him alive ... going on to call it a shocking tragedy.

This is a project that Jay was all in on -- he was writing, producing and starring in it as the lead man. It sounds like a good old-fashioned Western movie ... and was due to be released next year.

Jay certainly has had some movie experience over the length of his long career, but he's definitely more famous for his TV work ... or daytime TV, we should say -- which he got started in the '90s with "Days of Our Lives," on which he played Dr. Chip Lakin.

He was only on 'Days' for about a year, but then moved on to even more legendary soaps ... where he had prolonged roles. Jay was in over 700 episodes of "Port Charles" for several years between the late '90s and early 2000s, playing Frank Scanlon to much fanfare.

After that, Jay went on to star in "General Hospital" for a couple years -- at which point, he was acting in a ton of different stuff ... like "Dexter," "Desperate Housewives," "Hot Line," "Saving Grace" ... and later, "NCIS," "The Mentalist" and other shows and movies up until very recently.

He's survived by his wife, Elena, and their children. Jay was only 60.

Erin Hershey, a soap actress famous for "General Hospital," didn't want her kids tuning into Joe Biden's inauguration ... telling a teacher she'd never let them "watch a criminal."

Erin's got a daughter in elementary school in California, and after the little girl's teacher sent an email to parents Wednesday inviting kids to skip class to watch Inauguration Day, she replied with some nasty comments about the new Prez.

According to the email chain, obtained by TMZ, Erin blasted this out to the teacher and her fellow parents ... "Why watch a criminal on television? I’d never do that to my children. But thank you."

Another parent then rushed to the teacher's defense in the email chain, thanking her for considering the families who wanted to watch the historical moment and drawing Erin's ire by writing, "no matter the person taking office, we are lucky to be able to watch moments like this."

Erin quickly responded with another reply all, saying ... "I don't think we are lucky at all to watch a flat out joke."

Tyler Christopher -- best known for his appearances on "General Hospital" over the course of 20 years -- may have had too much fun celebrating turning 47 ... because he ended up in jail.

The soap star was arrested in Martinsville, Indiana Monday night -- on his 47th birthday -- and booked for public intoxication. According to Morgan County Jail records ... he's being held on $225 cash and $1,000 bond.

As far as we can tell ... Tyler hasn't been released yet.

Based on his mug shot, Christopher's changed his look quite a bit since he left his role on another popular soap opera, "Days of Our Lives," earlier this year ... and not for the better.

Tyler played Stefan DiMera on 'Days' from December 2017 until leaving the series this past March. Before that, he played Nikolas Cassadine on 'GH' off and on from 1996 to 2016.

All that pales in comparison to the best fun fact about Tyler though -- he was married to Eva Longoria from 2002 to 2004.

Happy birthday, bud?

Peter Hansen -- who played Lee Baldwin for 5 decades on the iconic soap opera "General Hospital" -- died Sunday in Santa Clarita, California.

Peter's character started out as an addiction counselor at the hospital, and then the role morphed into Mayor of Port Charles.

Hansen won an Emmy for his alcoholism story line in 1979.

Hansen was also known for his role in the movies "When Worlds Collide" and "Dragonfly" ... and has over 100 acting credits to his name over an almost 70-year career.

He is survived by his son and daughter and 3 grandkids.

He was 95.