Arnold Schwarzenegger Now Involved in $1 Million Lawsuit Tied to Son's Car Crash
Arnold Schwarzenegger's company was reportedly added to a $1.5 million lawsuit involving his son, Joseph Baena. The 24-year-old allegedly crashed his vehicle into another vehicle on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles in April 2021. The other driver claims they were injured in the crash and added Schwarzenegger's Oak Productions as a defendant in the case.
The crash happened on April 5, 2021, according to legal documents obtained by The Blast. The plaintiff claims the defendants "so negligently and carelessly entrusted, managed, maintained, drove or caused to be driven their certain 2018 Jeep Wrangler, so as to proximately cause their vehicle to collide with the 2019 Audi QB, owned and operated by [the] plaintiff." The person claimed Baena was driving too close and was driving at an unsafe speed at the time of the crash. It is unclear if Baena was ticketed by law enforcement after the crash.
The plaintiff said the crash caused "personal injuries" because of the "negligence and carelessness of defendants." The plaintiff claims the injuries will lead to "some permanent disability." It's unclear why the plaintiff added Oak Productions as a defendant or how Schwarzenegger could be directly linked to the car Baena was driving. The driver is seeking $650,000 in general and special damages and $1 million for punitive damages.
This is not the only time Schwarzenegger was dragged into a lawsuit against one of his children over a car accident. Back in November 2020, Gad Kakanyisa sued Christopher Schwarzenegger, 24, over an accident that happened the day before Halloween in Los Angeles. Kakanyisa claimed Oak Productions and Christopher were the "owners and operators" of the vehicles that hit his Toyota. The plaintiff claimed he suffered "severe injuries to (his) body and shock and injuries to (his) nervous system, all of which cause him severe pain and discomfort" because of the crash. Kakanyisa asked for over $25,000 in damages. The case is still ongoing.
Schwarzenegger was involved in a car crash himself in January. He was driving a GMC Yukon when he collided with a red Prius in Brentwood, California. Schwarzenegger's SUV continued rotating and struck a white Porsche Cayenne. The Prius driver was rushed to the hospital for a head injury, TMZ reports. The accident happened about a mile from the Terminator star's house.
Baena is Schwarzenegger's son with his housekeeper, Mildren Baena. After it was reported that Schwarzenegger had an affair, he and Maria Shriver divorced. In recent years, Schwarzenegger has not been shy about appearing with Baena, who is an aspiring bodybuilder and actor. In February, Baena told Men's Health he is close with his father but is not using the Schwarzenegger last name.
"My dad is old-school; he doesn't believe in handouts. He believes hard work pays off, and so do I," Baena told the magazine. "I love the word honor, and I'm very prideful in the sense that if I use my dad's contacts or ask him for favors, I wonder what honor is that gonna bring me?" Baena said he likes casting directors not knowing who he is when he auditions. When he gets an acting job, he knows he got it on his own merits, not because of his family connections.