Car Crashes

Kevin Hart's car crash was caused by the driver operating the vehicle in a reckless fashion ... this according to the California Highway Patrol, which has just completed its report on the accident.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Kevin's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda crashed because driver Jared Black gunned the engine and lost control. The car had incredible power with a 720-HP engine. We're told the sudden acceleration and loss of control caused the vehicle to go into a spin and it ended up crashing through a fence and into an embankment.

According to our sources, the report says none of the 3 people in the car were wearing seat belts. As we reported, the Barracuda did not have safety harnesses, but now it's not an issue since they weren't wearing any safety device.

Our sources say the vehicle did not have any mechanical issues. It was purely driver error -- willful or wanton disregard for people or property.

Boxing superstar Errol Spence -- one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world -- is badly injured and being treated in an Intensive Care Unit in Dallas after crashing a white Ferrari early Thursday morning.

The 29-year-old was driving on Riverfront Blvd. around 3 AM at a high rate of speed, according to cops, when the car went over the center median and flipped at least 5 times.

Spence, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the car and suffered serious injuries, officials say. You can see in the photos, obtained by FOX 4, it doesn't appear the vehicle has a roof.

Spence was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Police say he's expected to survive.

The Dallas Police Dept. raced to the scene. Several officers were seen investigating the crash. It's unclear at this point if they believe alcohol was a factor.

Kevin Hart is getting back to his famous "Hustle Hart" mode after his horrific car accident -- but he's not rushing into anything intense -- like full action scenes -- just yet.

Sources connected to Kevin tell TMZ ... he's reported to work this week to promote the upcoming 'Jumanji' sequel in a new marketing campaign, which clearly required his presence, because he's nowhere near 100 percent yet.

Ever the trooper though, we're told Kevin is committed to fulfilling his commitments as best as he can. For example, our sources say Kevin did 2 hours of shoots on set Monday, another 2 hours Tuesday, and will be back for another couple on Thursday.

We're told Kevin has not been in full costume for these shoots and he's not walking much for them either -- sitting through most of the day -- even though he can walk on his own these days.

Everyone else on set -- including The Rock, Jack Black, Nick Jonas and others -- have been doing full days themselves. Of course, they're not recovering from a near-fatal wreck.

Gerard Butler's going after the driver who allegedly cut him off in traffic and caused him to crash ... according to a new suit.

According to the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- he was ejected from his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle when a woman "negligently pulled her vehicle off the curb" and cut across lanes of traffic directly in front of him.

The "Angel Has Fallen" star claims he had no time to stop, so he hit the lady's Benz on the driver's side and went flying off ... and he says he suffered "catastrophic injuries."

We broke the story ... Butler was hospitalized after the October 2017 accident. Paramedics arrived on the scene and briefly treated him before he was transported.

Some bad news, good news for Dodgers fans ...

Bad news ... Corey Seager was involved in a minor car crash Tuesday afternoon before a workout at Dodger Stadium.

Good news ... he's fine, no injuries.

The superstar shortstop was driving in L.A. when a person in a parked car opened their door, and Seager struck it, according to Bill Plunkett of the O.C. Register.

Both cars suffered damage, but no one was hurt, Plunkett says.

Seager eventually made it to Dodger Stadium and looked unfazed during workouts.

Of course, the Dodgers are gearing up for Game 1 of the Division Playoffs against the Washington Nationals on Thursday night ... so they're gonna need a healthy Seager!!!

The only possible lingering issue for the 25-year-old star ... he's probably gonna have to cough up some dough to fix the car he hit.

Seager reportedly raked in $4 million in salary for the Dodgers in 2019 ... but the guy's an absolute stud so a FAT  payday is coming in his future.

The elderly man who was seriously injured after getting hit by Laila Ali's SUV in 2018 has lawyered up and filed a lawsuit ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... Ali accidentally hit a man with her Land Rover while backing out of a Calabasas shopping center in December '18 ... causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. The man claims he went unconscious for a brief amount of time.

Paramedics and L.A. County Sheriff's deputies quickly responded to the scene ... and Ali cooperated with law enforcement. She was not arrested.

In court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, the man -- Robert Ise -- says he suffered a left orbital blowout fracture, a concussion and lacerations and contusions across his body.

Ise claims he still suffers from pain and emotional distress due to Ali's negligence ... and now he wants her to pay for all past and future medical expenses.

Ali released a statement after the accident ... saying she was praying for the man's recovery.

Kevin Hart and the 2 people in his car that crashed Sept. 1 have all lawyered up, TMZ has learned, and everyone's expecting a big lawsuit.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, the driver, who sustained serious back and chest injuries has an attorney, as does the passenger in the backseat, who sustained only minor injuries. Kevin has a lawyer as well.

We're told Kevin is in the crosshairs of the other 2 people in the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda because the car did not have safety harnesses or airbags. The argument is ... Kevin should have worried less about keeping the car authentic and more about safety -- and not doing so constitutes negligence.

The driver could also be on the hook for Kevin and the backseat passenger, but it's a little premature since the CHP is still investigating the cause of the crash.

The big issue ... we're told the company that customized the car could be looking at a lawsuit. The argument goes like this ... the company is the expert and even if Kevin wanted a custom job without safety harnesses, the company should have refused the job because it wasn't safe ... especially with a powerful, 720 horsepower engine.

We contacted 10 custom car companies around the country and asked if Kevin's crash has opened their eyes and changed their minds about customizing classic cars without installing safety harnesses. 8 out of the 10 said they would if that's what the customer wanted. Only 2 said they would not.

It's interesting because it opens these companies up to a lawsuit, especially if there are passengers in the car who get injured.

A bizarre and terrifying scene in Chicago -- someone behind the wheel of an SUV drove straight through a Sears and into a mall.

In the video, shot by one terrified shopper, the vehicle plows through kiosks in the Woodfield Mall, and just keeps going ... smashing store windows and rolling over everything in its path.

You can hear one shopper repeatedly yelling, very appropriately, "What the f**k?!!" Multiple reports say police responded and were able to take the driver into custody.

Video from a news chopper showed the outdoor entrance to Sears totally destroyed -- so, it appears that's where the driver first got into the mall in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg.

It's unclear what the psycho's motive was ... or if there were any casualties.

Kevin Hart has checked out of his inpatient rehab facility and is back home where he's receiving intensive physical therapy, but the big takeaway ... he's "grateful" and "shocked" he's alive.

Sources very close to Kevin tell us, he's looked at the photos of the car crash and can't believe anyone walked out alive. TMZ broke the story, Kevin messed up his back bad -- 3 spinal fractures that required fusion.

He spent 10 days in the hospital under heavy pain meds and was then transferred to the inpatient facility, but he's home now. He has a physical therapist coming to his house most days ... and he's doing lots of stretching and exercises with therapy bands.

He's still in a lot of pain but says he's handling it without all the meds that knocked him out.

We're also told he's not worried about the injuries torpedoing his career ... doctors and the PT have assured him he'll be pretty much back to where he was before the accident, and he had nothing immediate on his plate work-wise, so he can focus on bouncing back.

Kevin says he's grateful to be alive and has "a new perspective on life." We asked what that meant and were told, "He really cherishes the fact that he's alive, and wants to make the most of it in every respect. The crash had a huge impact on him."

Need proof Kevin Hart's gonna pull through after a devastating car crash? Look no further than his wife ... 'cause she sounds incredibly optimistic.

Eniko Hart was leaving a Starbucks Thursday in L.A. and the obvious question ... Kev's prognosis. TMZ broke the story ... Kevin was released from the hospital Wednesday and he checked in to a live-in rehab facility, telling friends he was grateful to be alive. That said, he's staring down at least a week in the new facility and months of outpatient rehab.

As you know ... Kevin, a driver and another passenger careened into a ditch in Malibu a week ago Sunday, and he fractured 3 areas of the spine. He had those 3 areas fused during surgery.

Eniko knows the road ahead will be tough, but she's got a lot of pep in her step and is super upbeat.

Robin Thicke's fiancee is at fault for a 2-car crash in Malibu ... so say cops in their preliminary investigation, but it's not all bad news for Robin's baby mama.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops have determined Robin's fiancee, April Love Geary, made an unsafe left turn onto the PCH with her Cadillac Escalade last weekend, causing her to smash into a BMW carrying 3 people.

We're told April's car hit the passenger side of the Beamer and the impact was so hard ... it sent the BMW flying off the side of the road.

Kevin Hart is out of the hospital, TMZ has learned, and he's now at a live-in rehab facility doing intense physical therapy to recover from his car crash injuries and surgery.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us, Kevin is "glad" to get out of the L.A. hospital he's called home for 10 days. He has a positive attitude, saying, "I'm grateful to be alive."

He's at the rehab joint right now, and the goal we're told is to get him home "as soon as possible," where he can start outpatient care.

Realistically, our sources say he's looking at around a week -- more or less -- at the live-in facility.

Kevin Hart's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda will be stripped down to nuts, bolts and metal pieces ... courtesy of the California Highway Patrol, and what the CHP finds could result in new car safety laws.

Our CHP sources tell us its protocol is often to disassemble cars involved in either fatal or major injuries to determine the cause of the crash. It's a 3-week process ... a week taking the car apart and 2-3 weeks evaluating the evidence and writing a report.

Our law enforcement sources say ... the end result may be a recommendation by the CHP to the state legislature to require that car companies that customize and restore classic cars must install safety harnesses, even if it deviates from the original vehicle. In Kevin's case, the Barracuda is a 1970, when harnesses were not required.

As one CHP source told us, even if there were mechanical problems with the car that caused the crash, a safety harness could have prevented or minimized the serious back injuries Kevin and the driver suffered.

We're told the CHP DOES care if the car wasn't restored properly. The CHP has actually pushed legislation over salvaged cars that are unsafely restored ... and now those cars must be inspected by the Dept.

Robin Thicke and his fiancee were just involved in a car accident that sent one vehicle flying into the side of the road in Malibu -- but it appears everyone's alright.

Eyewitnesses tell us the singer was riding passenger in an Escalade Saturday along PCH in Malibu near Point Dume and Zuma Beach. We're told a woman who was driving -- which we've confirmed was his fiancee and baby mama, April Love Geary -- somehow collided with another car full of what we're told were younger people.

Eyewitnesses say that Robin got out of the SUV and walked over to the other vehicle, which was lying on the side of the highway ... nearly tipped on its side. Luckily, this looks a lot worse than it actually was, as nobody seems to have suffered major injuries.

Law enforcement sources tell us no one was transported to a hospital in the two-vehicle collision, and that a report was taken on the scene. Fault will be determined at a later date.

In video of the scene, obtained by TMZ, you see Robin picking up car parts off the road and attempting to direct traffic away from the accident. At one point, you see Robin's SUV pulling out ... and the extent of the damage on it is on full display.

Based on what Robin posted on IG a little while ago, it doesn't appear their kids were with them -- looks like he and April did a solo lunch date, and they both seem okay.

Kevin Hart is already back on his own two feet -- but he's miles away from a full recovery ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources connected to the comedian tell us that Kevin is, in fact, walking again -- as Tiffany Haddish mentioned Friday at the Harper's Bazaar ICONS event in NYC -- but he's not nearly as "good" as she made it seem. We're told he's walking slowly and gingerly at this point.

We're also told KH's starting physical therapy this weekend at the hospital he's currently being treated at. That's great considering he just underwent surgery days ago.

While he may be taking steps in his road to full health, make no mistake ... we're told Kevin is in excruciating pain as he heals, but that he's also maintaining a relatively positive mood.

TMZ broke the story ... Kevin was involved in a nasty car accident last weekend that sent his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda flying into a ditch off a highway in Malibu Hills. He suffered 3 spinal fractures, and went into surgery soon afterward for his back.

Kevin Hart's scary car wreck has Dr. Phil shook because, like Kevin, he owns a classic car ... and he's now realizing it comes with some serious safety concerns.

The Doc tells "TMZ Live" his '57 Chevy is the same as Hart's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in that it's equipped with lap belts but not safety harnesses ... and he doesn't know what to do about it.

As Dr. Phil says -- they don't make cars today like they used to ... and that's not always a good thing. He shows us there's really no way to easily install shoulder strap seat belts with the way the car's built. That's not the case with Kevin's Barracuda -- shoulder straps could have been installed.

Phil points out old cars like his and Kevin's don't perform nearly as well in crash tests as modern vehicles and, without making changes ... survival rates in crashes are much lower. In fact, he says he's stunned Hart is still alive.

As we told you ... Hart suffered serious injuries -- including 3 spinal fractures -- when his classic ride crashed through a fence on Mulholland Highway in the Malibu area early Sunday. The driver, his friend Jared Black, also suffered severe back injuries.

While their injuries may not have been totally avoided had the car been equipped with safety harnesses or airbags, they certainly wouldn't have hurt ... and installing them is now top of mind for Dr. Phil.