General Hospital star Haley Pullos was ordered Thursday to appear at a preliminary court hearing next month on charges related to a horrific, near-fatal car crash when she allegedly drove the wrong way on a Los Angeles freeway while she was drunk and high on drugs.
The 25-year-old actress – who has played Molly Lansing-Davis on the hit soap opera since she was 11 – made a brief appearance at the Pasadena courthouse, north of LA, where Judge Terry Smerling scheduled the preliminary hearing for October 24.
The blonde-haired Pullos, who was with her mother, wore a pink Barbie suit, a cream-colored silk blouse and white heels in court Thursday.
Thanks to the accident, she also wore a black brace on her right ankle. She was seen wearing the brace last month and was on crutches when she made her first court appearance in July.
Still, her injuries were minor compared to the “life-threatening and permanent” injuries suffered by the other driver, 23-year-old Courtney Wilder, whose car Pullos collided head-on on the 134 Ventura Freeway in Pasadena in April.
Actress Haley Pullos wore a pink suit Thursday during a brief court appearance where she was scheduled to appear next month on drunken driving charges
Blonde-haired Pullos wore a stylish light pink jacket, a cream-colored silk blouse, dark pink pants and white stiletto heels in court on Thursday.
Thanks to the accident, Pullos was still wearing the black brace she wore on her right ankle when she appeared in court last month
Pullos is facing one misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence causing injury and another misdemeanor charge of driving with an alcohol content over 0.08 causing injury
Marijuana edibles and tequila miniatures were found during a search of her white 2019 Ford (seen here), which photos show suffered serious damage as a result of the accident
Wilder – who was taken to a local hospital in critical condition to undergo emergency surgery – is now suing the actress in civil court, seeking damages for ‘negligence’.
The stylish 25-year-old actress appeared in court with her mother
Pullos faces one misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated causing injury and another misdemeanor charge of driving with a blood alcohol content of more than 0.08 causing injury.
She is also charged with hit-and-run resulting from hitting a parked car on the highway just before the crash. She pleads not guilty to all charges.
Police say Pullos — who was dropped off from General Hospital a month after the crash — drove her white 2019 Ford Fusion westbound onto the eastbound 134 Freeway and struck Wilder’s Kia that was traveling at 60 mph. drove east.
Both cars were completely destroyed and when first responders arrived, police say, Pullos couldn’t get out of her car, so firefighters had to use the jaws of life to get her out.
Several mini bottles of tequila and edible marijuana wrappers were reportedly found in her car.
And police at the scene of the accident reported that she smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and had glassy eyes.
“Haley Pullos acted maliciously and without any regard for the safety of others, as evidenced by her anger as she was pulled from her vehicle by emergency responders,” Wilder said in a written statement to the court.
Following the crash in April, the California Highway Patrol and Pasadena fire departments released photos of the aftermath of the late-night crash, showing the cars of both Pullos and the 23-year-old victim completely totaled and sprawled along Arroyo Seco Parkway .
The driver of the other car – the Kia seen on the left – was hospitalized and nearly died, and is now suing the actress for reckless endangerment
Weeks after the crash, Pullos — whose own injuries have never been revealed in detail — told Soap Opera Digest that she was taking a break from her role on the long-running daytime show to recover from the crash.
Wilder accuses Pullos in his lawsuit of “attacking” and abusing emergency workers in a “rage” at the scene of the accident, even hitting and yelling at a firefighter for touching her expensive designer shirt.
“Haley Pullos acted maliciously and without any regard for the safety of others, as evidenced by her anger as she was pulled from her vehicle by emergency responders,” Wilder said in a written statement to the court.
‘She acted maliciously by assaulting the officers, shouting profanities in front of witnesses and targeting those who tried to help her.
‘In her fit of rage, Haley Pullos assaulted a firefighter and shouted at him to get his hands off her ‘$400 f***ing shirt’.
“Despite having just caused two accidents, one of which resulted in serious, life-threatening injuries, she cared more about her overpriced clothing than the safety and well-being of the victim of her reckless, deliberate and despicable behavior.
“As further evidence of her abhorrent behavior, Haley Pullos continued to fight medical staff and was forcibly sedated.”
Judge Terry Smerling (seen here in the Pasadena courtroom) scheduled the preliminary hearing for October 24
Pullos will fight a misdemeanor charge stemming from an alleged collision that police say occurred shortly before the crash during her next court appearance.
“Not only was she driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, but she was also drinking behind the wheel, as evidenced by the edible wrappers and empty alcohol bottles found in her car.”
Weeks after the crash, Pullos — whose own injuries have never been revealed in detail — told Soap Opera Digest that she was taking a break from her role on the long-running daytime show to recover from the crash.
“Unfortunately, I was involved in a car accident and I am doing well, but will need some time to recover,” she told the publication at the time. “I’ll be back as soon as possible!”
Shortly afterwards, in May, she was spotted by DailyMail.com checking into a luxury rehabilitation center in Malibu.