Actress Kim Delaney is being sued over an alleged November 2022 hit-and-run accident from November 2022.
Delaney, 62, is being sued by a man named Dzhamal Badalov for allegedly crashing into him on his motorcycle while driving in Los Angeles, according to legal documents obtained by Us Weekly, which were filed on Tuesday, January 23. In his filing, Badalov claims Delaney was seen “swerving through the streets” and “driving erratically” before causing him to be “thrown off his motorcycle and land onto the street.”
The filing states that Delaney “appeared intoxicated” and allegedly attempted to drive away after the crash but was stopped by bystanders. She proceeded to call someone on her phone, who allegedly suggested Delaney pay him off rather than call the cops. Badalov allegedly refused, and as a result, Delaney reportedly fled the scene.
On Tuesday, TMZ also reported that a criminal case against Delaney has been opened in L.A. and that she has been charged with a hit-and-run. Delaney is reportedly expected to appear in court next week. She has not publicly commented on Badalov’s allegations.
Us has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department for comment.
In the past, the actress has faced legal trouble and reportedly struggled with substance abuse in the past. In 2011, she was escorted off stage at an event in Philadelphia honoring Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates after fumbling a speech. At the time, multiple outlets reported that Delaney had previously entered rehab for alcoholism twice and had been arrested for suspicion of drunk driving in 2002.
Delaney began her Hollywood career in the 1980s with her breakout role as Jenny Gardner Nelson on All My Children. She appeared on the soap opera from 1981 to 1994 before grabbing a starring role as Kathleen Maguire on the short-lived legal drama Philly, which ran from 2001 to 2002.
One of Delaney’s best-known roles to date is that of NYPD Blue’s Detective Diane Russell. She joined the ABC police procedural during its second season in 1995 and ended her run on the show during season 11 in 2003. It was announced in January 2019 that she and former costar Bill Brochtrup would reprise their roles for an NYPD Blue revival pilot, though the episode never made it to air.
“The main problem was that the bar was so high,” former ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke told TVLine in August 2019. “It was a very good pilot. On any other network, in any other circumstance, that show [likely] gets on the air. For us, we kept the bar really high. We all felt like unless we can really advance the ball from the original let’s let the original rest. They did as good a job as one can do with something that is that revered.”
Delaney followed up her time on NYPD Blue with appearances on 10.5, The O.C. and Law & Order Special Victims Unit before booking her next big role as Claudia Joy Holden on Lifetime’s Army Wives. She departed the series in 2012 ahead of its seventh and final season.
Her most recent acting credits include a brief stint on General Hospital from 2020 to 2021 and a four-episode role on NBC’s Chicago Fire from 2018 to 2022.