Updated report on Brad Pitt’s motorcycle accident
October 26, 2009 by Sherry
Sometimes trying to get the full story about a celebrity item is like that old kid game, “Broken Telephone” – you know, one person whispers something to a friend, they pass it along, and by the time it reaches the last person, it’s completely different.
In trying to get more information about Brad Pitt’s motorcycle accident over the weekend, most stories pointed to Brad either being hit from behind or being clipped by someone who cut him off. I even wrote about the being cut off angle earlier today as some video and reports suggested that to be the most likely situation.
However, a video obtained from TMZ shows that in the end no one actually hit Brad at all.
It seems that what happened is Brad tried to maneuver in between a truck and a parked car, bumped into the car (causing the dent and scraping that we saw in the video I posted from X17), lost his balance, and toppled over. That’s a relief because at least we can see that it wasn’t as dangerous as it originally sounded, though he still could have been hurt, especially if traffic had started moving again.
Overall though, I still blame the paparazzi to an extent for causing this accident. I’ve seen video – taken from the sidewalk – of Brad driving his motorcycle before and it doesn’t seem that he makes a habit of weaving in between cars. Rather he appears to be a very safe driver from what I’ve been able to see in the past.
It seems – and this is just my opinion, of course – that Brad was aware that paparazzi were following him in a car and he was trying to escape them for the sake of trying to maintain at least a little bit of privacy. Unfortunately, in his hurry to lose them, he lost his balance instead.
This still tells a familiar story. Technically speaking, the paparazzi did not directly cause Princess Diana’s car to crash when she died. They did not ram her vehicle up against the tunnel wall. However, her driver too was trying to escape the paparazzi who were relentlessly chasing them, and it ended in so much tragedy that people all over the world mourned her death.
While Brad was ultimately responsible for toppling his own motorcycle, he would have had no need to slip in between two cars if he hadn’t been chased by paparazzi in the first place.
It still all comes down to needing laws that prohibit paparazzi from getting within X amount of feet of a celebrity (other than at red carpet events where photos are an expected part of the promotion package) and we certainly need laws to prohibit paparazzi from following celebrities in (or on) their vehicles, again within X amount of feet.
Regardless of the cause, I’m still so glad that Brad Pitt wasn’t hurt.
(Thanks to Faye and Angela for the video links)
So it was a parked car, I wonder who’s car it was, some one in the building he goes into? You obviously don’t leave a note on the windshield if you are Brad Pitt, so how do you get in touch with the person to let them know you damaged their car? Just wondering. I wonder do you think he’ll pay to get the car fixed or just buy them a new one.
i wish it was my car…..LOL
anyway i agree with you Sherry the pabs are somewhat responsible. that didn´t look as if he was hurt at all, thank goodness.
but MAN that motorcycle looks uncomfortable!
Kim, that’s an interesting question and I have no idea. I would venture a guess that Brad would have someone else take care of the insurance info exchange and all that.
And you know, if I read that Brad bought the person a whole new car I would absolutely believe it.
If brad pitt dented my car, i would never fix it! Lol. Heck, he can key his name into it!!
i don’t want to put the blame on anybody. i’m just glad he is alright.
Has anyone been able to follow what´s really going on after the fall from the bike? Who´s the lady who says “come with us”? Is she from the apartment block? Who´s the guy with the white van where Brad stops and who he talks to? Does anyone understand the scenario? Who´s a paparazzo and who´s not?
I totally feel for Brad, because such a situation can also be embarrassing and humiliating, no matter what caused the accident. And the world is there to see it. He can´t even collect himself without cameras clicking and him being filmed. And I think he handles himself with a lot of grace. Surely he must have also gotten a bit of a shock. And maybe he even hurt himself a little – this bike seems very heavy. But unlike normal people he can´t come to his senses again in peace.
hey – there are new pics of bp walking around and driving in his car after the accident on x17.
Brad exchanged info with someone in a white van. Just saw the video on Access Hollywood. And I must say Access, there was no need to show him falling down 8 God damn times. We get it. Kind of mean if you ask me.
(Sorry if someone already mentions this… this may show up later due to possible moderation…)
Well that’s a development I didn’t expect! Definitely good news though. It looks as though the bike just fell over really, probably a common happening for bike riders when they’re coming to a stop and losing momentum (especially with a big heavy bike like that). I agree with you Angela – very happy Brad is ok.
I feel so bad for him. He was just trying to get away. He probably just isn’t used to that bike. In the slow motion one it looked like it would have really hurt that right leg. Bet he’s sore today.
I think I remember Brad saying that he uses his motorbikes to get pass papparazi quickly.. maybe he just wanted to escape them because, you know, his sick and tired of them following him.. but as I think about it, I can’t blame the papz nor can I blame Brad for this one.. we could all have our say here but what matters is that Brad is alright and safe now..
as for the video, I think Brad’s motorbike would fit between the cars.. I heard a loud shriek as he push for the breaks.. maybe something happened,, dunno.. oh well.. his safe, that’s good to hear..
I am glad he is fine, but truly the paps are to blame for this whether they were directly involved or not!
amcs – i’ve seen those pics and it looks like Brad has a little bruises on his arms.. glad it’s just some scratches..
God Bless the Jolie-Pitt’s!
tmz got everything on video, before and after the accident. That would mean that they were following him and he was trying to get away from them. Obviously, that caused the accident.
I am so happy he is ok, but why do they follow him around, if it’s just pic take it and go away I am sure he do not mind. I still do not understand why they need to video tape him all the time, and they have a need to know where he is going, can’t he be allowed to just have a plesant ride and enjoy the evening out. The fact that they have pic and video of the play by play it simply means that they have turn into stalkers and that should not be allowed. They have crossed the line and the powers that be, seem to be powerless to stop these stalkers.
One of the big problem is they are so much entertainment show who use these pic , videos and quote these people every word and it legitimize what they do becaue TMZ will always be there to to blame the victim.
Gee…I still don’t see it. I’ve looked at that vid several times and I don’t see him hitting the car until he falls over. It appears he has enough clearance on both sides. Oh well…I’m glad he’s okay. Mad, Pax, Z, Shi, Knox, & Viv probably gave him a big hug when he got home. And I would imagine George Clooney will be ribbing him about this spill.
eliza- I agree!
I would imagine that the pap’s are worse about following him on his motorbike since he excepted that ride from them when his bike broke down awhile ago, they are probably trying to get a repeat. but, lets be honest don’t think Brad will ever except another ride from them again.
Looks like gear-issues… In low revs some bikes misbehave if they’re in the wrong gear (or simply have a “tech-out”, which simply is the equivalent of a bitchy bike
). I’m just guessing, because it seemed like he just hit the breaks too hard and too fast – but perhaps thats just what he did.
It happened to me when I had just had my sports license for a few months. One minute I was sitting ON a Ducati 1198R in a roundabout, the next I felt a “hickup” (like someone just hits the breaks d e a d) and was flying OFF the bike. Not the most pleasant of experiences… (mostly for the ego) but then again, that particular bike wasn’t meant to do normal traffic. The protective leather suit and helmet prevented serious damage from the fall. I never understood how people ride bikes without much more protection than perhaps (some sort of) helmet.
Good thing it wasn’t anything serious for him there.
Toodles…
Diana’s driver was drunk, please don’t forget that. I think this accident was just that, an accident. His motorcycle is very heavy and if you go slowly it’s harder to keep control. Once it falls it’s almost impossible to pick it up by yourself.
I just wanted to add one thing on this topic then im done. Since learning that the papz did not actually hit brad, people havent been as outraged, some even taking blame away from the papz. My husband has a motorcycle and every time he takes it out im a nervous wreck until he gets home. I worry about him driving too fast or bad drivers on the road with him. I cant even imagine how i would feel if i knew when he left on it he would be stalked by people trying to take pictures of him. Motorcycles are dangerous to begin with and for the papz to be tailing him when hes on it is just asking for trouble. I blame them entirely. Even if brad acted irresponsibly. I dont think it would have happened had they not been there.
Glad to know he is okay, but I agree with all the others, that TMZ was there to film it all, so that means that they were trying to keep up with him. This is where the danger is, the following in their cars to get the pictures. Not only is the celebrity in danger but all the other innocent people driving their cars or walking across a street.
Amy- Very well said! I feel the same way about the accident that killed Princess Diana. Had the paps not been chasing her car, odds are the accident wouldn’t have happened.
The fact is, Brad probably never would have needed to weave between the cars had it not been for the paps chasing him.
Does anyone know what kind of motorcycle that is?
007, you seem to know a lot about bikes!
How crazy would it be if you were the couple in that apartment building, and Brad Pitt walked in asking for refuge?