Sunday morning, around 2:45 am, Shia LeBeouf made a poor choice (a term I use with my kids). Although in actuality, the poor choice began when he decided to get behind the wheel after drinking WAY too much, minor details folks.

Back to 2:45 am. This is apparently when Shia and his unidentified female passenger, were struck by another vehicle which caused his truck to roll over on its roof. While Shia’s passenger and the other drive sustained minor injuries, Shia had to be admitted to the hospital to have surgery on his hand, but only after he was arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges. Shia is extremely lucky the other parties’ injuries were minor, or he would have been charged with a felony DUI, and subjected to more severe punishment. From the CNN report:

LaBeouf was trying to make a left turn at a West Hollywood intersection around 3 a.m. when his pickup collided with another vehicle, rolling the truck over, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Wolf said.

“It was immediately apparent to officers responding on the scene that LaBeouf was intoxicated and he was subsequently placed under arrest,” Wolf said.

Wolf said LaBeouf was booked then released for misdemeanor DUI. The 22-year-old actor was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and was being treated for injuries to his left hand and a knee, as well as a minor head injury, Wolf said.

Shia’s spokesperson released this statement:

“Attorneys for Mr. LaBeouf confirm that an automobile accident involving an additional party occurred early morning in Los Angeles on July 27, 2008. Shia is currently recovering from extensive hand surgery with plans to return to work on the set of ‘Transformers 2′ within one month. No further comment will be issued at this time.”

Shia, 22, who had been enjoying his box office success starring opposite Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones 4 film, is no stranger to trouble, but this is his worst incident thus far. Shia has previously been cited for smoking in a non-smoking area in Burbank and for unlawful trespassing at a Chicago Walgreens. Both charges were dropped, which is NOT likely to happen with his current DUI charges. Shia also had a video surface recently showing him drunk and encouraging a friend to punch him, which included the use of gay slur. Clearly the kid has a drinking problem.

Shia now joins a growing club of Hollywood’s less than stellar stars who’ve been busted for drinking and driving, proving that this group is too stupid to learn from the mistakes of others. I find it especially galling that these stars get themselves into this kind of trouble because unlike us regular folks, they have handlers, assistants and loads of cash to keep them from making poor choices. Why not call a cab, why not call your assistant to pick you up? Why not hire a limo for the evening if you know you will be drinking too much.

Shia, I have defended you in the past. I have declared you one of the good ones, who was a bit on the edge, but smart enough to make decent decisions about your life. You have a history of drug dependency in your family and I would think you’d take that into consideration when make life choices. I am not going to tell you I am surprised you were busted, but I will tell you you’ve lost a fan. You could have killed someone, an innocent person, because you showed no regard for the safety of others. For your sake, I hope they throw the book at you so you will learn a valuable lesson.

Now do me a favor, don’t show up in the police blotter ever again, and I may forgive you some day.

Dumbass.

Shia LaBeouf, costar of the new Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull film, and star of last summer’s Transformers movie, is HOT, with a capital H O T, but sadly, like most young stars in Hollywood, he has a penchant for being a major dumbass at times.

Yesterday, a YouTube video showing a young Shia drunk off his ass, screwing around with some friends surfaced on the internet. LeBeouf, who was goading his friend in what can only be described as a teen prank, called him of them a “f*ggot”. Now, E! is reporting that Shia is “embarrassed” by the video and his rep issued a statement:

“The videotape that is currently being circulated is several years old and captures Shia playing a game among friends in which he uses a derogatory word toward a friend,” LaBeouf’s rep tells me exclusively. “He regrets having used the word in any capacity and is very embarrassed that this footage is being seen by anyone.”

That last sentence is the clincher. If you watch the video (it’s been pulled from YT) the real issue here is excessive drinking and stupidity. It’s pretty doubtful that Shia is anti-gay or that he thinks his friend exhibits signs which demonstrate any “gay-like” qualities. Essentially, Shia was doing what most boys at that age do: acting like an idiot.

To take this whole thing out of context makes light of real bigots and gay-bashers I feel. While Shia should understand he’s in the limelight and exercise some control over himself, I do NOT feel this incident should imply anything inherently evil about Shia, except perhaps he can’t handle his liquor. And considering his family history, he might be better off not drinking at all.

P.S. Shia, you might want to get better friends, you know, the kind that don’t sell you out.

File this under “mountain out of a mole-hill”.

Via Michael K at DListed.