Ride Me

"Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston was mere FEET from the motorcycle crash that nearly took out Jay Leno ... and tells TMZ he knows what REALLY caused the bikers to lose control and wipe out that day.

We broke the story ... a bike with two passengers slammed into another vehicle at the 2011 "Love Ride" ... coming thiiiiis close to taking out Leno.

Christina Silva -- the rider who captured the crash on camera -- says she was unfairly blamed for causing the crash ... and now Cranston seems to back her story.

Bryan tells us ... "I was about fifty yards behind in the same lane as the downed riders. It happened because of excess speed."

Cranston explains, "Guys were flying past me. When you put yourself in that position you are forced to make quick decisions when coming upon slower traffic. Not a good mix. Slow it down - enjoy the ride!"

As for Leno ... Bryan says he didn't just ride off into the sunset -- "Jay stopped to assist and went to the hospital with the injured riders."

Video footage of a motorcycle accident that nearly wiped out Jay Leno has surfaced ... one year after the crash -- and now, it could prove the WRONG PERSON was blamed for causing the collision.

Leno and the motorcyclists involved in the collision were taking part in a charity benefit called the "Love Ride" last October when the accident occurred on an L.A. freeway.

You can see in the tape -- recorded via helmet cam -- a bike with two riders speeds up from behind and slams into another motorcycle, causing a massive wreck that nearly takes out Leno ... who was riding just feet away.

The woman who captured the crash on camera -- Christina Silva -- was subsequently blamed for the crash and was banned from participating in this year's "Love Ride" ... but she insists the video shows she did NOTHING wrong.

In fact, Silva tells us the people who pointed the finger at her were the two riders who rear-ended the other biker. It's unclear why they feel Silva is at fault.

Live, from New York ... it's Kenan Thompson in a gold suit begging cops not to tow his fancy car ... and TMZ has the pics.

The photos were taken in front of 30 Rock on Thursday -- presumably during an "SNL" rehearsal (though it would be way cooler if Kenan rocked that gold suit around outside work).

Sources tell us ... Thompson was parked illegally and cops were getting ready to hook it up to the tow truck when Kenan came running outside ... and pled his case for mercy.

In the end, Kenan emerged victorious ... cops didn't tow the ride -- but sources tell us Kenan was hit with a small fine. It's OK, he can afford it.

We reached out to Kenan for comment -- to no avail ... but it doesn't really matter ... 'cause this here is REAL!!!

Rick Springfield's career has hit an all-time low ... literally -- going underground Wednesday morning in NYC for an impromptu performance of "Jessie's Girl" ... on a SUBWAY PLATFORM ... and it's awesome.

It all went down during rush hour -- around 8:00 AM -- Springfield whipped out his guitar out of nowhere for a flash mini-concert, belting out three songs for busy commuters ... including the classic "Jessie's Girl."

And as a testament to how awesome it was ... a massive crowd of New Yorkers -- who don't stop for anything -- actually gathered around to sing along.

Multi-millionaire rap icon Jay-Z made his most shocking purchase ever this weekend in NYC -- a METROCARD -- riding the subway to Brooklyn with the common folk ... moments before his big concert at the Barclays Center.

Jay and his crew took the "R" train from Canal Street in Manhattan to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn on Saturday to mark his final show at the new Nets stadium before basketball season kicks off this month.

Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend, Nick Gordon, got a brand, new ride following his NASTY car accident last month -- and wouldn't you know ... he took home THE EXACT SAME CAR he had before.

TMZ broke the story, Nick and B.K. got into a scary accident in GA last month and his precious Chevy Camaro was badly wrecked -- with the bumper torn off and a missing front tire (below).

The details surrounding the crash remain unclear -- but we're told the accident is currently under investigation.

In the meantime, sources close to Nick tell TMZ ... he wasted no time replacing his messed up ride -- and even though he had his heart set on a Maserati, he ultimately went with a new Camaro, just like his old one.

Mirror Mirror on the car ... but not for long because Ben Affleck just knocked it off.

Ben may have been daydreaming about his "thank you" speech at the Oscars, because the distracted driver/star/director of "Argo" side-swiped a parked Honda that was minding its own business -- decapitating its side mirror.

But Ben did the right thing, leaving a note that even had a friendly salutation: "Hi, knocked off your mirror. VERY Sorry. Will cover everything. Ben."

Nicky Hilton got screwed at valet parking last night when her Range Rover was returned with a massive dent and scrape -- and oddly enough ... Nicky took it like a champ.

Nicky got the bad news after walking out of dinner at Craig's ... the valet brought around her sweet black Range with a few improvements -- the right rear quarter panel was smashed in and the paint job was destroyed.

Nicky's friend Showman Jeff Beacher handled the paperwork for her, but we gotta hand it to Nicky -- most people would go OFF on the parking attendant, but then again most people don't have Hilton money.

More bad news for Justin Bieber's chromed out Fisker Karma -- the ridiculous car was TOWED last night in L.A. while Bieber was performing a concert ... but it wasn't the singer's fault.

TMZ has obtained pics of the parking humiliation at the Shore Hotel in Santa Monica. A rep for the towing company tells us the car was towed because it had been occupying a 15-minute parking spot ... for several hours.

Sources tell TMZ, someone in Bieber's camp had left the car there while the singer performed at the Staples Center in Downtown L.A. ... roughly 15 miles away.

Bieber's concert kicked off at 7pm. The car was towed around 8pm and stowed away at a nearby impound lot.

We're told the car has since been picked up.

What do you get the man who has everything? Nicki Minaj figured it out ... getting Lil Wayne one of the craziest awesome gifts ever for his 30th birthday ... a tiny 3-wheeled $70,000 sports car called a T-REX.

Sources close to Nicki tell TMZ, the new "American Idol" judge got Weezy a Campagna T-Rex 14R -- a two-seater motorcycle-car hybrid that's ultra-lightweight at 1,040 pounds ... and FAST, reaching speeds of 150mph.

The trike retails for roughly $50,000 but we're told Nicki tricked hers out as a special "thank you" for all Wayne's done for her career -- dropping a total of $70,000 on Weezy's gift.

We're told the car-thing was delivered to Wayne at his giant 30th birthday bash in Hollywood last night -- and the rapper was stoked about the present.

Young money.

Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina was involved in a scary car accident in Georgia -- DESTROYING the entire front end of the vehicle -- and TMZ has a photo of the damage.

The black 2012 Camaro belongs to Bobbi's boyfriend Nick Gordon -- and according to sources close to Bobbi, Nick was driving Sunday night in Alpharetta, GA ... with Bobbi in the passenger seat ... when the accident happened.

The details surrounding the accident are unclear, but we're told the couple had been arguing at the time of the crash -- and Nick's Camaro was the only car involved. No one was injured.

After the accident, the car was missing the front right tire, the front bumper was torn off, and the airbags were deployed -- but somehow it got back to Bobbi and Nick's apartment.

Cops went to the apartment soon after the accident for a noise complaint, but no one answered the door.

According to the incident report, officers saw the car parked outside the apartment with its hazard lights on -- and it appeared it had been driven in a damaged state.

We're told the accident is currently under investigation. Calls to Bobbi's people were not returned.

Wiz Khalifa's beautiful blue 1969 Chevy Chevelle was MANGLED in an alleged hit-and-run crash last week ... and TMZ has the heart-breaking photos.

We broke the story ... the LAPD launched an investigation after a woman filed a report claiming the rapper smashed into her ride on Wednesday after a music video shoot and then fled the scene.

Now, sources say Wiz actually hit 2 cars ... including a Lexus, which sustained serious damage to the front end.

One source who was at the scene tells us the Chevy was leaving the video shoot when the driver punched the gas and lost control ... slamming into the Lexus, which caromed into another car.

As we previously reported, the women in the 3rd car claims Wiz fled from the scene -- she has since filed a hit-and-run report with police.

If he did run from the scene, it wasn't in his Chevelle -- we obtained video from the scene which shows a banged up car, which appears undrivable, being tended to right after the accident.

We reached out to Wiz -- so far, no word back.

Sean Kingston is LYING through his pearly white teeth ... 'cause Justin Bieber DID NOT "gift" him his customized Fisker Karma ... TMZ has learned.

Kingston began the charade in front of Boa this weekend ... when he rolled up to the steak joint in JB's chromed-out car and told photogs Justin had given it to him as a gift ... as a perk of their friendship.

But sources close to the The Biebs tell TMZ Kingston's pants are COMPLETELY on fire -- truth is, Sean asked Justin if he could BORROW the car to go to dinner since Bieber is on tour ... and Justin obliged.

Now, the car is back in Justin's garage -- and we're guessing Kingston's driving privileges have been suspended indefinitely.

It pays to be Justin Bieber's BFF ... 'cause Sean Kingston tells TMZ the Biebs GAVE HIM his old chrome-plated Fisker Karma simply because he got bored with it.

Kingston was leaving Boa Steakhouse in Hollywood this weekend when the valet drove up in the Karma ... which Justin initially got as an 18th birthday gift from his manager Scooter Braun.

So ... why did Bieber decide to re-gift his super-fast, super-expensive car?

Sean gave us the full explanation (check out the video) ... but Kingston should be careful -- 'cause Fisker Automotive recalled roughly 2,400 of the Karmas to fix a defective cooling fan unit that was the cause of a vehicle fire back in August.

The chrome car has a pretty infamous track record with police -- Justin was pulled over in the ride at least twice ... including one time for driving at breakneck speeds on L.A.'s 101 freeway.

Lindsay Lohan did herself -- and everyone in the Tri-State area -- a favor last night by not driving ... instead hopping in the passenger seat of an SUV as someone else drove around the streets of New York.

Engaged couple Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are living life in the fast lane ... by riding around L.A. on Thursday in a $200K McLaren sports car.

While being her personal chauffeur may just be part of the job description, Liam took the driver's seat as Miley and her blonde 'do rode shotgun in the British high performance vehicle.

Miley and Liam's relationship really is going full speed ahead.