Names and faces

LITTLE ROCK — A paparazzo was struck and killed by a car while darting across a street after taking pictures of Justin Bieber’s Fe rra ri when it was pulled over along a freeway in Los Angeles, policesaid Wednesday. Bieber was not in the car at the time. The singer later said his prayers were with the family of the 29-year-old photographer who was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the accident late Tuesday afternoon. The photographer’s name was withheld by police pending notification of relatives. “Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves,” Bieber said in the statement released by Island Def Jam Music Group. The death occurred about six months after another photographer was charged with reckless driving and with violating a 2010 California law that toughened punishment forthose who drive dangerously in pursuit of photos for commercial gain. However, a judge later dismissed the charges. On Tuesday, a friend of Bieber’s was behind the wheel of the singer’s Ferrari when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled it over for speeding along Interstate 405, authorities said. “This photographer evidently had been following the white Ferrari” and when it was pulled over he stopped, parked and crossed the street to snap photos, Los Angeles police Detective Charles Walton said. The “officer told him numerous times that it wasn’t safe for him to be there and to return to his vehicle,” Walton said. The photographer was running back across the street to his car when he was struck by a Toyota Highlander, Walton said. The Toyota’s driver, a 69-year-old LosAngeles woman, had two small grandchildren in the back seat. She was unlikely to be cited, police said.

Bobby Womack, 68, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. TheRock and Roll Hall of Fame member told the BBC in a recent interview that he was diagnosed after he began having difficulty remembering his songs and the names of people he’s worked with. A spokesman did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment. The soul singer has cut a wide path through the music business as a performer and songwriter in his 50-year career.