Content Advisory: This article discusses a DUI arrest, a fatal accident involving a child, mental health treatment, rehab, medication use, and family tension. Reader discretion is advised.
Britney Spears brought up a fatal accident involving her mother, Lynne Spears, during her March DUI arrest, newly released police footage shows.
The 44-year-old singer was arrested on March 4 in Ventura County, California, after police pulled her over on suspicion of driving under the influence. In video published after the arrest, an officer warned Spears that it was “extremely dangerous to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both.”
Spears responded by referencing a decades-old accident involving her mother.
“My mom actually killed a man on a bike, but I never did that before,” Spears told the officer.
When the officer tried to continue speaking, Britney interrupted again.
“And nothing happened to her!” she said. “Why didn’t they arrest her? How come my mom got away with everything?”
Britney Spears Mentions Lynne Spears’ 1975 Accident
The accident involving Lynne happened in 1975, when she fatally struck 12-year-old Anthony Winters while driving her injured brother, Sonny Bridges, to a hospital in Kentwood, Louisiana.
Lynne wrote about the incident in her 2008 memoir, ‘Through The Storm’. She said the roads were slick from rain and that she saw two boys riding bikes as another car approached in the opposite lane.
Lynne said she tried to stop but could not avoid hitting one of the boys.
She was not charged in the incident.
In 2019, Anthony’s mother, Yvonne Winters, said that Lynne had never personally apologized to her. Still, she said she viewed the crash as an accident. “It was an accident,” Yvonne said. “It was a terrible situation, but it was an accident, and accidents can happen to anyone.”
Police Report Described Spears’ Arrest
The newly released footage came as more details from Britney’s March arrest surfaced.
According to a police report obtained by Us Weekly, officers said Spears spoke “nonsensically” during the investigation and admitted to drinking a mimosa and taking medications earlier that day, including Prozac and Adderall.
“I could probably drink four bottles of wine and take care of you. I’m an angel,” Spears allegedly told one officer, according to the report.
Spears spent the night in jail and later entered rehab in April. She checked out of the facility a few weeks later.
DUI Charge Was Dismissed Under Plea Deal
On May 4, Spears pleaded guilty to a lesser reckless driving charge as part of a plea deal.
The DUI charge was dismissed. She was sentenced to 12 months of probation and ordered to complete a DUI class. She was also ordered to see a psychologist once a week and a psychiatrist twice a month.
Her attorney, Michael Goldstein, said Spears had accepted responsibility.
“Through her plea today, Britney has accepted responsibility for her conduct,” Goldstein said. He added that she had taken “significant steps to implement positive change.”
The arrest video has now added another layer to the case, not only because of Spears’ own legal trouble, but because she pulled a painful family history into the moment.
