Police rule that paparazzi had no role in Lohan crash

Authorities investigating Lindsay Lohan's car smash have ruled that the paparazzi played no role in the accident, as was initially claimed by the actress' spokesperson.

The 19-year-old Mean Girls star and another female passenger sustained minor injuries on Tuesday, after her black Mercedes-Benz convertible collided with a van on a busy West Hollywood street.

The accident was caused when the driver of the van made a U-turn in front of Lohan, according to Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department.

Whitmore says: "She happens to be an innocent victim in all of this. The paparazzi, as far as we can tell, have nothing to do in terms of the accident."

The driver of the van may be cited for making an illegal U-turn, according to Whitmore.

After the actress' crash, her representative Leslie Sloane stated: "This is another example of the paparazzi endangering citizens, both Ms Lohan and the other driver in the collision."

But US TV reporter Victoria Recano, who was filming nearby, says: "There was no one following her. She was going pretty fast on Robertson (Boulevard)."