Back in the 1960s, Dick Van Dyke piloted a magical car through the air onscreen. But last week, the 97-year-old entertainment legend had a down-to-earth mishap during the torrential rains in Southern California, losing control of his Lexus and sliding it into a gate in Malibu, police there confirmed.
The crash happened March 15 but police are just releasing details about it today. Los Angeles County deputies found Van Dyke behind the wheel of his silver LS 500. He suffered “minor injuries” including “bleeding from the nose and mouth” and he may “have suffered a concussion.” No current details were available on his condition and whether he had indeed suffered a concussion, but TMZ reported he was not sent to hospital and was instead picked up by a friend who drove him home.
The sheriff’s office said drugs and alcohol were not a factor.
The crash comes 10 years after Van Dyke was rescued by a passerby on a Los Angeles freeway when his Jaguar burst into flames.
Van Dyke, the star of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Bye-Bye Birdie,” “Mary Poppins,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and much more, is still active for his age. The Grammy, Emmy and Tony winner was perhaps the world’s oldest-ever singing contestant when he competed recently on Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” wowing the audience. (“I think some people thought I was dead,” he joked in an interview about it.)
But not surprisingly given his age, KTLA-TV reports police have submitted paperwork to the DMV to request he retake his driving test.
