Armstrong crashes car, girlfriend tries to take blame

Professional cyclist Lance Armstrong has been charged with crashing into two parked cars in the Colorado ski resort town of Aspen, with his girlfriend initially telling authorities that she was driving. Armstrong was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving too fast for the snowy conditions in the late December incident in the tony resort, authorities said. No one was injured in the accident.

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and banned for life from racing in 2012 by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after he admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.

Aspen police said the 43-yearold Armstrong and his girlfriend, Anna Hansen, were driving home from a fundraising event to benefit a local art museum when a GMC Yukon registered to Armstrong crashed into two parked cars.

Police said an Aspen resident called 911 to report a hit and run after hearing the crash and seeing two vehicles rented by his relatives were damaged.

The man said that shortly after placing the call, Hansen ran up from around a corner and apologized for hitting the vehicles, said she would pay for the damages, and left her contact information with him, police said.

When police arrived at the home Armstrong and Hansen share, the officer noted the Yukon had “significant damage,” the report said.

When questioned by police, Hansen, 33, said she had been driving because “Lance had a little bit to drink,” and that she lost control of the vehicle on the icy road, the report said.

The officer was suspicious of her story and checked with the valet at the hotel where the event was held, who said Armstrong was behind the wheel when the couple left the parking lot.