Lance Armstrong, the disgraced cyclist who was stripped of seven Tour de France titles for his part in one of the most sophisticated doping operations in the history of sport, is due in court after being accused of crashing his SUV into two parked cars before leaving the scene. According to police, the incident occurred in the sky resort of Aspen, Colorado.
Reports suggest that Armstrong’s girlfriend Anna Hansen told authorities she was driving the SUV before changing her story. He could face a fine and up to 90 days in jail if convicted of the charges.
Hansen, 33, who lives in Aspen, was initially cited for the incident after telling police that she was driving the couple home from a party at the Aspen Art Museum. She claimed to have lost control and hit two cars before offering to pay for the damages. A man who was renting one of the damaged cars told police detective that Hansen ran up to his house in high heels shoes, apologizing and promising to pay for the repairs.
The Aspen Daily News reported that the couple had made the “joint decision” to avoid negative headlines. Officers spoke with the valet at the event, who confirmed that Armstrong was the one driving when leaving the soiree.
When investigators paid another visit to Hansen, she changed her story, telling cops, “He was not intoxicated, and that was um, you know, I’m sorry I lied to you that morning but I was trying to make [it] sound like, well, I was driving because that was, just, I don’t know … I was just trying to make something up at that time,” according to TMZ.com.
Armstrong is now due in court March 17.