Amanda Bynes arrested for DUI

The former Nickelodeon star has made some serious grown-up mistakes as she was arrested and issued a DUI after side swiping a cop car in Los Angeles early Friday morning.  Driving her black BMW after a night out the two cars swapped paint around 3 AM.  There was no major damage to either vehicle and no one was injured, but Bynes was booked at a West Hollywood jail with a bail of $5,000.  Allegedly a cameraman for a gossip paper tried to convince the valet who gave Bynes her keys to not let her drive, but was unsuccessful. At the time of the incident Bynes was trying to pass the cop car when she hit the right side of the cruiser.  When the officer approached her to assess the situation he deemed the 26 year-old unfit to drive and she was arrested.

This was not the first run in with the law Bynes has had this year.  According to TMZ the actress was caught talking on the phone while driving on March 7 of this year.  Before the officer could finish writing her ticket she ran from the scene only to return to the station later that day to sign her ticket.  On that particular occasion she was not arrested, but the cop was surprised to see her flee the situation.

While the child actor may have gained fame from her character on “All That”  on Nickelodeon she was able to segue into feature films such as She’s the Man (2006), Syndney White (2007), Hairspray (2007), and Easy A (2010).  After the stream of movies she was a part of it appeared as though the actress was doing well and establishing a successful career.  In June 2010 Bynes shocked fans when she tweeted about retiring at 24.  According to her account she posted:

“Being an actress isn’t as fun as it may seem.  If I don’t love something anymore, I stop doing it. I don’t love acting anymore, so I’ve stopped doing it.”

Though that seemed final and sincere, the actress took it back a month later with the simple tweet, “I’ve unretired.”  The star seems to be trying to figure out some things.  Though she “unretired” she has not announced any new projects since she was a part of Easy A  in 2010.  Hopefully this is not a sign that the child actress is following the path of so many others who reach fame at a young age only to end up confused and frequenting the Hollywood part scene too much.

As of 10:00 a.m. Friday morning Bynes was released on bail, but the consequences of her late night partying will probably earn her another headline in the near future.  Hopefully it is accompanied by a more flattering picture than her mug shot.