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Actress Sandra Bullock and her husband Jesse James were unharmed after the car that was driving them to their hotel got smashed by a drunk driver last night in Gloucester, Mass, People reported.
None of the people involved in the crash were hurt, but the cars got towed while Lucille P. Gatchell, 67, of Gloucester, who was driving the vehicle at fault, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to stay in marked lanes, a police report said.
Bullock, who is in town filming "The Proposal," alongside Ryan Reynolds, and James were returning to their hotel at around 9:50 p.m., when an erratically driven car crossed over the white line according to a witness, and hit the vehicle Bullock and James were in "head on." The accident occurred in front of the Gloucester Laundromat on Whitemore Street.
"We had a witness in back of her getting ready to call 911," Lieutenant Gerry Cook of the Gloucester Police Department said, adding that if it weren't for the slow speed of Bullock's driver, things could've been much worse.
"They were shaken up, needless to say," Cook said. "But they were fine – he was hugging her. Jess and Sandra were hugging. They said they were fine, they didn’t need medical attention. There were quite a few people snapping pictures of them." The two walked away from the accident and were not even examined, he added.
However, when authorities arrived on scene, Gatchell allegedly "had a strong odor of alcohol and was unsteady on her feet." She blew an alcohol level two-and-a-half times over the legal limit, said Gloucester police, and was arrested on the scene.
"After I arrested her I had her in the cruiser. I said, ‘Do you realize who you hit?’ She asked, ‘Who?’ I said, ‘Sandra Bullock,’ "Kevin Mackey, who arrested Gatchell said. "She was almost giggling and laughing. She said, 'My first drunk driving and I hit Sandra Bullock.’ "
The arrest "appears to be her first offense," Cook added.
"It’s unfortunate," said Cook. "But it shows you that no one is immune from drunk drivers, no matter how famous you are."
And even though the car she was in had just been hit, Bullock became worried about the other driver.
"Ms. Bullock was concerned with the operator of the other car. I think she thought she might have been injured," Cook said.
The woman was taken to the station and released on her own recognizance. She will be arraigned on the charges Tuesday.
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