Campbell won’t face charges over ‘attack’ on driver

SUPERMODEL Naomi Campbell looked to have avoided facing another assault charge yesterday after being accused of hitting her driver in New York and then running from the scene.

The catwalk legend’s chauffeur prompted a police probe in the city after claiming the 39-year-old hit him from the back seat of her luxury car, causing bruising under his right eye.

But the authorities later said the driver had decided not to pursue the matter, meaning Campbell – who has notched up a series of assault convictions over the years – will most likely not face any charges.

New York police had issued a “harassment report” after consultation with the district attorney’s office because no officer witnessed what took place in the black Cadillac Escalade. The report does not carry any penalty.

Earlier, Campbell’s spokesman Jeff Raymond said she would co-operate with police over the matter. “There shouldn’t be a rush to judgment,” he said. “Naomi will co-operate voluntarily and there is more to the story than meets the eye.”

The model’s 27-year-old driver, apparently hired just for the day, told police he was attacked from the back seat before she jumped out and ran away.

The man told police Campbell hit him from behind and his head struck the steering wheel of the black Cadillac Escalade, causing bruising under his right eye. He pulled over in midtown Manhattan and got out to speak to a traffic agent, who alerted police. Campbell was not at the scene when officers arrived, police said.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said the driver told officers he picked Campbell up at a Manhattan hotel and was taking her to Astoria Studios, a TV and film studio complex in Queens.

The London-born fashion icon’s latest brush with the law comes just days after she admitted she was “not perfect” during a fund-raising event for quake-hit Haiti.

Campbell, of Britain, became one of the world’s highest-paid models after being discovered at age 15.