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Bauhaus goth-rocker Peter Murphy held on suspicion of DUI

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Peter Murphy, lead singer of 1970s British goth-rock band Bauhaus, was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail after allegedly rear-ending a vehicle in Glendale, police said.

An eyewitness followed Murphy, 55, from Saturday’s crash at Central and Goode avenues in Glendale to the 3400 block of Barham Boulevard in Los Angeles because “he was afraid [Murphy] would kill someone with his driving,” according to Glendale police.

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Murphy, who was in a Subaru Forester, reportedly struck a Mercedes about 11:48 a.m. Saturday at the intersection, then drove around the vehicle and entered the 134 Freeway, police said.

A witness who was washing windows snapped a photograph of the fleeing vehicle, which had sustained moderate front-end damage, the Glendale News-Press reported.

The driver of the Mercedes also wrote down the car’s license plate number before Glendale fire personnel took her away on a gurney, police said.

Meanwhile, the driver of a pickup truck reportedly followed Murphy to Los Angeles, where he pulled in front of Murphy’s Subaru, blocking it, and called Glendale police to tell them he was detaining Murphy. Los Angeles police then detained Murphy until Glendale police arrived.

Glendale officers said Murphy appeared to be at points “very confused” and had difficulty recalling the day and time. Murphy denied drinking alcohol that day, adding that he had taken only his regular prescription pills for depression, according to police. Murphy, who is from England but lives in Turkey, reportedly admitted to being involved in a collision, telling officers he was jet-lagged from a recent flight, police said. Inside the L.A. police patrol car where Murphy had been detained, officers reported finding a small plastic bag, possibly of methamphetamine, police said.

Murphy denied the bag belonged to him, but officers said they believed he was trying to discard it in the patrol car. Murphy was arrested on suspicion of causing injuries while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, felony hit-and-run and possessing methamphetamine, police said.

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Murphy is best known for his lead vocals with the group Bauhaus, which has recorded four albums and ignited the goth-rock movement.

-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News

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