Dick Van Dyke injured in Malibu car accident amid Los Angeles downpour
Dick Van Dyke sustained “moderate injuries” in a Malibu car crash last week amid an ongoing downpour in Los Angeles County, police confirmed Wednesday to the Los Angeles Times.
The 97-year-old actor was driving in the rain last Wednesday morning when his car slid off the roadway and crashed into a block wall and a gate, a law enforcement spokesperson said. (The streets of Los Angeles have been especially slick in recent weeks amid heavy, near-constant precipitation. ) There were no other vehicles or passengers involved in the collision.
According to TMZ, the “Mary Poppins” star was bleeding from the nose and mouth and possibly suffered a concussion in the crash. A law enforcement spokesperson verified to The Times that Van Dyke suffered “moderate injuries to the face area,” but did not elaborate further.
Members of the L.A. County Fire Department treated Van Dyke on the scene and encouraged him to go to the hospital. The Emmy winner — who was “alert and oriented” while interacting with paramedics — was not transported to the hospital via ambulance. However, law enforcement was under the impression that he went later or a friend or a relative later took him to the hospital.
The soon-to-be-released “Mary Poppins Returns” puts a fresh spin on the 1964 original movie, but the world premiere of the Disney sequel Thursday night in Los Angeles was all about the legends.
Van Dyke was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the time of the collision, reports said. TMZ also reported that police filed a request to the California Department of Motor Vehicles for Van Dyke to retake a driving test, partially because of his age. A law enforcement spokesperson told The Times he was not aware of any paperwork submitted to the DMV.
When reached by The Times, a spokesperson for the California DMV said Wednesday that the agency “does not comment on referrals from law enforcement or on matters involving individual drivers.”
A representative for Van Dyke did not immediately respond Wednesday to an inquiry from The Times.
Here is what to expect and when the rain will end as a new, powerful storm rolls into Southern California this week.
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