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Dodgers’ James Loney won’t face charges after freeway accident

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Would love to announce everything has been cleared up in James Loney’s arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence, after officials announced Wednesday he would not be criminally charged.

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against Loney after all drug tests came back negative.

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Which is very good news for Loney, and the Dodgers, though it doesn’t exactly explain how he drove his Maserati into three cars on the 101 Freeway on a weekday evening in November.

Loney refused comment to The Times on Wednesday through his agency, as he did when the news of his arrest first broke in December. Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti previously said Loney told him he struck his head on something after the first collision and then could not remember what happened.

Which would include sideswiping the next two cars, trying to flee the scene and acting in such a manner that California Highway Patrol officers thought he was under the influence.

Hey, hit your head hard enough and odd things can happen.

The Dodgers were satisfied with Loney’s explanation, enough so that they signed him last month to a one-year contract for $6.375 million.

Loney, who turns 28 in May, is scheduled to return as the Dodgers starting first baseman after hitting .288 with 12 home runs and 65 runs batted in last season. His .416 slugging percentage was the third-lowest for any major league first baseman with a minimum of 500 at-bats.

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