Johnny Depp: Van Crashes Outside the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Star’s Home

Had Johnny Depp been home early Thursday morning, he would have seen a driver flee the scene after crashing into a street sign outside his Los Angeles estate.

TMZ reports that police are investigating a hit-and-run outside Depp’s home after a driver crashed a van into a “no parking” sign around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, leaving behind the 2000 Chevy van.

Depp’s home was reportedly not damaged, nor was he home. The only sign of damage was the fallen street sign that was just to the left of his driveway, which landed on some shrubbery.

As previously reported, Depp is in the middle of a legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard, who he’s suing for defamation in a $50 million lawsuit after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018 that alluded to sexual violence in their relationship.

The Aquaman actress called the suit “frivolous” in March.

“This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp’s repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard,” Heard’s attorney, Eric M. George, told Deadline at the time. “She will not be silenced.”

The attorney continued, “Mr. Depp’s actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behavior. But while he appears hell-bent on achieving self destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Mr. Depp and his legal team.”

In the suit, Depp called Heard’s abuse claims against him an “elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity” and “advance her career.”

Depp’s attorneys specifically cited the December 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post titled “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”

Although Heard never directly mentioned Depp in the op-ed, the lawsuit claimed it “depends on the central premise that Ms. Heard was a domestic abuse victim and that Mr. Depp perpetrated domestic violence against her.”

Depp claimed in his lawsuit that he was once the victim of domestic abuse, accusing Heard of throwing a vodka bottle at him.

Heard filed for divorce in May 2016 after 15 months of marriage. The divorce was finalized in January 2017, with Depp paying Heard a $7 million settlement, which Heard donated to charities for victims of domestic violence and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.