Actor Dreyfuss Injured in Ventura Boulevard Accident

Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss was hospitalized Sunday after he crashed his car into a light pole on a busy stretch of Ventura Boulevard, authorities said.

The 47-year-old actor’s black Lexus coupe ran head-on into a 25-foot-tall concrete light pole in the 11800 block of Ventura just outside the main gate of the CBS Studio Center about 3:20 p.m., Los Angeles police said.

No other cars were involved in the accident.

Dreyfuss--who complained of pain in his chest, stomach and arm--was admitted to Holy Cross Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition, hospital spokeswoman Kathy Mitchell said.

Tests revealed no serious injuries, Mitchell said, but the actor remained in the hospital overnight Sunday for observation. Mitchell said Dreyfuss’ pains may have been caused when he was restrained by the seat belt and when the air bag inflated.

Frank Leon, owner of La Loggia Ristorante on Ventura Boulevard, said he was just opening up for the evening when he heard a loud squeal and a crash.

Leon said he looked out the window and saw a Lexus smashed into a toppled lamppost. He grabbed a fire extinguisher, left his 4-year-old daughter with one of his employees and ran to the smoking car.

Leon said he recognized Dreyfuss, a regular at his restaurant, slumped against the inflated air bag.

“His eyes were closed and he was sweating. There was a little bit of blood on his forehead,” Leon said. “I asked him how he was feeling and he opened his eyes, so I knew he was OK.”

After calling paramedics, Leon sat with Dreyfuss, talking to him and asking him questions as the paramedics had instructed. Leon said Dreyfuss told him he had been shopping all day and that he was taking medication, but felt fine until the accident occurred.

It was unclear how fast the car was going and why Dreyfuss veered off the road, Los Angeles Police Lt. Thomas Kirk said. He said it did not appear that drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.

In 1982, Dreyfuss was arrested for cocaine possession after his Mercedes-Benz overturned on a canyon road. He pleaded innocent and entered a drug-treatment program.

Born in New York, Dreyfuss began his career as a stage actor. He made his film debut in 1968 and was the youngest actor to win an Academy Award for best actor in the 1977 movie “The Goodbye Girl.”

His others credits include “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “Stakeout” and “Tin Men.”

Times staff writer Eric Slater and the Associated Press contributed to this story.