By Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES, March 5 (Reuters) – Singer Britney Spears was arrested Wednesday night in Ventura County, California, on suspicion of driving under the influence, the California Highway Patrol has confirmed to Reuters.
The CHP’s Ventura Communications Center received a report around 8:48 p.m. on Wednesday of a black BMW traveling erratically at a high rate of speed. Officers located the vehicle a short time later and initiated a traffic stop.
CHP said that Spears, the sole occupant of the vehicle, “showed signs of impairment” due to the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs. It added she underwent a series of field sobriety tests.
Spears was booked into the Ventura County Main Jail late Wednesday.
A representative for Spears did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In 2007, Spears was charged with one count of hit-and-run causing property damage and one count of driving without a valid California driver’s license, both misdemeanors.
Spears regained control of her personal life and her money in 2021 when a judge ended a 13-year conservatorship that became a cause celebre for fans and critics of an arrangement typically meant to protect the elderly.
The “Piece of Me” singer had begged the court for months to terminate the conservatorship that governed her personal life and $60 million estate since 2008.
The conservatorship was set up and overseen by the singer’s father, Jamie Spears, after she had a public breakdown in 2007 and was hospitalized for undisclosed mental health issues.
Interest in the case was propelled in the past year by documentaries and the #FreeBritney movement of fans who questioned why the singer needed such restrictions while she was touring around the world and earning millions of dollars.
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Sarah Mills; Editing by Mark Porter and Aurora Ellis)
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