General Hospital star, Haley Pullos, is in the midst of a significant legal drama. This article uncovers the unfolding story of Pullos’s DUI charges, the lawsuit against her, and expert insights into her situation.

We delve into the allegations made in the civil suit filed against her. Also, the potential legal ramifications she could face and the legal defense strategies in play. Our analysis is not just detailed but also provides a comprehensive view of the incident and its aftermath.

General Hospital Star Haley Pullos Facing Massive Charges

We’ve got a copy of the civil case documents, and we also had the chance to talk today with a highly acclaimed Los Angeles DUI attorney who told us some really fascinating things about the law and the specifics of this case.

And he also told us why she’s likely gone to rehab — And it’s probably not to clean herself up, according to some of the legal defense strategies that the attorney talked to us about.

So we’re going to share with you the details of the lawsuit filed by the man she plowed into while allegedly intoxicated on alcohol and marijuana edibles.

We’re going to read you the high points of Haley’s case. Then we’re going to talk about why she’s in rehab and why it’s such a critical part of dealing with the criminal charges.

And then she’s also facing civil charges as well. And these are very serious. Let me tell you, I was stunned after I talked to this attorney at what punishment she could be facing and why she’s making the moves she’s making now.

Who Filed the Lawsuit?

So, the man that she hit, his name is Courtney Wilder. I’m reading from his civil suit filed in LA County, it was filed one day ago. Okay, so the general allegations say:

“On April 29th, 2023, at approximately 1:20 AM, defendant Haley Pullos drove while drunk and intoxicated on marijuana. She was involved in a hit-and-run collision and then caused a head-on collision with plaintiff Courtney Wilder.”

Now, mind you, this is not opinion. I’m reading the allegations straight from the court documents.

“Plaintiff Courtney Wilder was traveling eastbound on State Route 1 34 Ventura Freeway in the number four lane at approximately 60 miles per hour.

At the same time, defendant Pullos dangerously and recklessly drove her vehicle the wrong way up the off-ramp to Colorado Boulevard and onto the eastbound freeway in a westbound direction.”

All right. I’m going to pause reading the suit to explain this to you. When the original report came out from TMZ and some other places, they were saying that her car went over the concrete median and hit this guy head-on.

That was reported by another LA paper, and the initial reports differ from the info in the case that seems to come from police reports.

Two Wrecks in One Night – a Hit and Run & Wrong-Way Wreck for General Hospital Star

So, what the new details allege is that she hit a parked car and then drove away from that, still driving erratically and dangerously. Then she got onto the freeway, went onto an off-ramp, and traveled head-on into oncoming highway high-speed traffic at 1:20 AM.

I’m certain at 1:20 AM, there was probably not a lot of traffic, so everybody was going at full speed, and that’s when she crashed into this guy. Okay, so this was not something where her car bounced off something, and she ricocheted into him.

She drove the wrong way onto the freeway, and that’s terrifying. So then the suit says that after she entered the freeway, “She nearly collided with the vehicle of Gerald Legaspi,” and he’s labeled as a witness.

And this guy, the docs say, swerved out of her way, barely in time. “The plaintiff was driving behind Mr. Legaspi and did not have time to react when he saw headlights coming his way.

Haley Pullos collided head-on with him, causing severe damage and lasting injuries.” The guy driving the other car (they’re calling the witness) pulled over, called 9 1 1, and stayed there until California Highway Patrol arrived.

Haley Pullos Crash Victim Suffered “Lasting Injuries”

The guy she hit was transported to Huntington Hospital in critical condition and taken into emergency surgery, and we’re gonna show you a picture of the crash.

You can see how bad it is. This guy was really, really hurt. So it goes on to say, “The reason the defendant drove so recklessly and dangerously was because she was simultaneously intoxicated with marijuana and drunk on alcohol”, and then it goes on.

“prior to the collision, defendant Haley Pullos intentionally and purposefully drank alcohol well past the point of intoxication. Then she got behind the wheel of the vehicle.

She also ingested marijuana edibles, which were in her vehicle with empty alcohol containers by police after the collision.”

The initial report that TMZ made said that there were alcohol bottles in the car, but it didn’t detail that they were all empty.

And I’m guessing if it’s multiple bottles, they were probably small ones, but it doesn’t take a lot of tequila to get you lit, you know?

So it says, “She then proceeded to drive the wrong way up a freeway, off-ramp, and onto SR 1 34, traveling the wrong direction, which resulted in the collision”. That’s bad enough, then things get worse after the collision.

General Hospital Actress Assaults First Responder & Curses Over Expensive Shirt

The lawsuit says, “Haley Pullos had to be removed from the driver’s seat of her vehicle by fire department personnel due to the extensive damage from the collision. She was placed into the back of an ambulance.”

We had heard that Jaws of Life had to get her out. Now Listen to this…

“A firefighter attempted to assess defendant’s injuries, and she was observed by police hitting the firefighter and exclaiming ‘this is a $400 f***ing shirt”

“She was transported to Huntington Hospital for treatment. The police followed her ambulance to the hospital and attempted to obtain information about the collision…”

“The defendant was unable to recall any details due to her ‘altered state of mind’.” Then it goes on to say, “Police observed objective signs and symptoms of intoxication.

So, the defendant was placed under arrest for felony DUI. She became aggressive and began fighting hospital staff and was sedated.”

Okay, so that is what she is accused of, and that kind of mirrors the criminal charges that she is facing. And then, the case goes on to say, “Drunk driving is the second leading cause of fatal car crashes in the us”.

Haley Pullos Called “Despicable and Malicious” in the Lawsuit
In this complaint, the driver she hit alleges that “Haley Pullos’ conduct was despicable and malicious and warrants an award of punitive damage.”

Then the case discusses why the guy should get punitive damages. If you don’t know, punitive damages are for pain and suffering. He can sue for the value of the car that she crashed into and totaled.

Also, he could sue for his medical bills, for any kind of physical therapy, medication, and things like that. But then pain and suffering are punitive damages (meaning to punish the person that caused the problem).

They’re also called “non-economic damages.” We’ve had a lesson in California DUI law today, let me tell you… So, the suit basically says that she “knew that driving under the influence of alcohol was illegal.

And that getting into an accident was highly likely. It was also highly likely that great bodily harm or even death to another person could occur.” The suit says that she knew all this. And despite having that knowledge, she did it anyway.

I mean, we all have that, right? That’s common sense. Despite all that, the case says, “she made the intentional choice to drink alcohol well beyond the point of intoxication, knowing she would have to get behind the wheel later that evening.”

General Hospital: Haley Pullos DUI Lawsuit
General Hospital Molly Lansing Actress Hits Parked Car – Then Decides to Keep on Driving Drunk Says Lawsuit
The case continues with this. “Prior to the collision, Haley Pullos hit a parked vehicle and fled the scene of that crime.” And this is where it’s interesting. They’re saying — she had actual knowledge that if she continued to drive, “she would further endanger others and would likely cause another collision.”

So that’s important to note that she hit a parked car and then decided to keep driving — keep driving after the first crash. Then, it goes on to say, “Hayley Pullos’s hit-and-run collision did not deter her from further endangering the public.

Instead, she proceeded to endanger the safety of others and the plaintiff by driving in the wrong direction up the freeway off-ramp.” And it says, “It was all but certain that she would cause an accident by driving up a freeway off-ramp the wrong way.”

And it says, “Such conduct is reckless, malicious, and criminal… This conduct goes well beyond the bounds of decency.” They are not mincing words in this lawsuit. They go on, then, and talk about how she acted toward first responders.

This section says, “Haley Pullos acted maliciously and without any regard for the safety of others as evidenced by her rage when she was pulled from her vehicle by first responders.”

She acted maliciously by attacking the officers and yelling profanities in front of witnesses, and directed toward those trying to help her.

General Hospital: Haley Pullos DUI Lawsuit
Lawsuit Details “Fit of Rage” and Attack on Her Rescuers
“In her fit of rage, Haley Pullos battered a firefighter and yelled at him to take his hands off her $400 f***ing shirt. Despite having just caused two accidents, one of which resulted in serious life-threatening injuries, she cared more about her overpriced clothing than she did the safety and well-being of the victims, of her reckless, intentional, and despicable conduct.”

This language they use really sets the scene for you, right? They talk about her “abhorrent behavior” — a fancy word for horrible. “Haley Pullos continued to fight medical staff and was forced to be sedated.”

“Not only was Haley Pullos driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, but she was drinking behind the wheel, as evidenced by the edible wrappers and empty alcohol bottles in her vehicle.

Photos from the scene show the two vehicles mangled.” So this civil suit is alleging that she didn’t just get drunk and get into the car. They allege that she was actively drinking and eating those edibles while behind the wheel.

And that’s why the wrappers and everything were there. That’s what they are saying. So there’s a list of charges against her. She is facing a felony DUI.

Haley Pullos Downplays Incident When Announcing General Hospital Exit
So the timeline of this is this accident happened on April 29th, and then two weeks later, she said this:

“Unfortunately, I was involved in an automobile accident, and I’m doing okay, but I am going to need a little time to recover. I will be back as soon as possible!”

She totally downplayed what happened – and many fans don’t see this as an accident – they see this as something she chose to do. And then her dad dropped her off at rehab after the DUI story finally broke.

So, a lot of people were like, oh, I’m glad she’s getting help. That’s what I thought too. Oh, I’m glad she’s getting help. Then I talked to the DUI lawyer today, and I found out what’s so important about the fact that she is in rehab.

All right, so the DUI lawyer I talked to, Michael Bialys, he’s a top DUI lawyer in LA and talked to us about this DUI case. This is what he does all day long, all year-long DUI cases.

He said there’s generally always an approach, but in this case, he said that there’s no way to litigate this case and that the only thing to do is to try and mitigate it. He’s talking about her felony DUI case, not the civil lawsuit we just discussed above.

Felony DUI Charges Could See 6 Years Behind Bars for General Hospital’s Haley Pullos
Mr. Bialys gave SD a quick lesson on DUI law in California, and what she’s facing is a felony “with great bodily injury”. That’s the most important charge because this guy she hit – Courtney Wilder – was gravely injured. He had to have surgery.

So, a charge like this where you seriously hurt someone while DUI, they call that a “strike.” And with a strike on that charge, she could get up to three years in prison. And she’s facing more than one charge, so it could be double that.

He said a lot of times, the judge sentences someone to 180 days in county jail, or it could be much longer and in state prison. But he said her exposure right now is up to six years in prison based on the charges against her.

Bialys said basically, there are a whole bunch of aggravating circumstances to her case. He says the hit-and-run is a huge problem because she’d had one accident and then kept going. That’s an aggravating circumstance that makes the court look at you more harshly.

The combination of both alcohol and drugs is also an aggravating circumstance. Her behavior towards the first responders and her aggression at the hospital witnessed by police — all aggravating circumstances.

He said that this is a case that’s extremely difficult to defend. And he said what’s important to know is the rehab thing. And he said he expects her to be in rehab for six months to a year. He said if she was his client, he would tell her to stay in there for at least a year.

DUI Lawyer Says General Hospital’s Pullos DUI Felony Case About ‘Mitigating not Litigating’
He said that this case is not about litigating, it’s about mitigating. What he meant by that, he said, is that as a lawyer, you don’t want a case like Haley Pullos’s to go to court because it’s indefensible.

There’s really no way to dispute what she did. There are witnesses placing her in the car, driving the wrong way. Witnesses or footage of the hit-and-run before that. Witnesses saw her driving and saw the crash.

And then, the law mandates that they do a blood draw on her at the hospital that will show the alcohol and drugs in her system. So, there’s no way to deny what she did, in essence.

He said there’s no way to defend against the charges because they’re all eminently provable. So the only thing you can do is try and mitigate that through a plea deal, through bargaining with the DA, trying to work out a sentence.

He said, you don’t want this to go to the jury trial because they bring in the victim, the jury gets to see photos of his injuries. They get to hear from the police that she was sassing. They get to hear from the firefighter that she hit.

That all looks really bad in court and can definitely see you get more time in jail. He said that he would not let this go if it was his client past the preliminary hearing and that he would work hard to cut a deal.

California Law Lets Luxury Rehab Center Count for Jail Time!!!
Now, let’s talk about her rehab. Remember, Haley Pullos didn’t go immediately. She didn’t go to rehab until after the news broke of her arrest. Until after this made headlines. And I want to tell you something really important about the rehab.

This may surprise you to learn because it frankly shocked me. Under California DUI law, the judge can apply that time she spends in rehab — whether it’s six months or a year, however long she’s there — to her prison sentence to lessen it.

The judge can apply a doctrine called “nunc pro tunc” — this is all info from the DUI lawyer Bialys, by the way. That is Latin, and it means “now for then”, and I’ll explain how it applies. So right now, she’s in rehab, clocking days in this luxury spa-like setting.

General Hospital: Haley Pullos DUI Lawsuit
Then when this criminal charge goes to court, and she faces whatever sentence, say she gets sentenced to six months… Her lawyer can then ask the judge for “nunc pro tunc,” and that means those six months in rehab will count as time served in jail.

The General Hospital actress is in a luxury Malibu rehab center right now, and all the time she spends at this $ 2,600-a-week Malibu luxury facility can be a substitute for jail time.

So, in addition to having therapy and all that, and admittedly that’s all important. Look at these some of these pictures. She is at The Malibu Detox and residential treatment center.

General Hospital: Haley Pullos DUI Lawsuit
Addiction or a Bad Night – Rehab May Be Legal Strategy…
Having a DUI does not mean you’re an addict. Let’s clarify that. You can get drunk, get behind the wheel, do something stupid, and drive and hurt someone but not be an alcoholic.

It can be just a night of bad decisions but doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an addict. Addiction is a disease. A DUI can be the result of that disease — or just of being dumb and out of control.

So, just because she’s in rehab does not mean she’s got an alcohol addiction. Based on our talk with the DUI attorney, he said rehab is definitely what he’d advise her to do if she were his client because it can cover future jail time.

Picture a county jail in LA. You’re in the orange jumpsuit, in a cell with other people, eating crappy food… And if it’s a state prison, it’s even worse.

Right now, the time she’s doing is in a luxury Malibu rehab that can substitute for a stint behind bars. And you can see some of the pictures of the nice bedrooms, the view of the Pacific Ocean from the Malibu Hills, and the luxury accommodations.

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