California

Paparazzi Present for Fatal Malibu Crash Involving Bruce Jenner, But Not Blamed

"He knows, yeah, there's paparazzi with him," an LA County Sheriff's deputy said

Paparazzi photographers following reality TV star and Olympian Bruce Jenner "were not chasing him" before the deadly chain-reaction crash on Pacific Coast Highway Saturday, officials said.

"He was not trying to elude them or anything. They were not chasing him, they just follow him," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Philip Brooks.

Jenner's car crashed into a stopped-short Lexus on PCH near Corral Canyon Road at about 12:15 p.m. Saturday. The Lexus then veered into traffic and was struck by a Hummer, killing its driver and injuring several others, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The driver was identified Sunday as a 69-year-old woman, but the LA County Coroner's Coroner has not released her name. The crash is still under investigation.

Photographers were present -- professionally taken photos from the side of PCH showed Jenner's SUV hit a Lexus. 

It's unclear if Jenner was distracted from behind the wheel, deputies said, but he was not speeding away from chasing paparazzi. Jenner passed a field sobriety test.

"He knows, yeah, there's paparazzi with him," Brooks added.

The dangers of paparazzi, who pursue celebrities in order to sell candid photos of them to news tabloids and other media, have been well known since several were implicated in the high-speed car wreck that killed Princess Diana in 1997.

In 2010, California passed a law that imposed harsher penalties on reckless paparazzi actions. It allows jail time for photographers found driving carelessly or blocking sidewalks.

But the footage of the scene appears to be from photographers already in place at PCH -- not pursuing Jenner -- suggesting that these photos, at least, were not the result of reckless paparazzi actions.

Jenner has been in the news lately over speculation about his personal life.

It was unclear if Jenner was on his phone at the time, Sgt. Brooks said.

"Generally in a case like this we'll ask or get a warrant for his cell phone records," he said.

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