Oscar-nominated director John Singleton struck and killed a jaywalker with his SUV this past Thursday. He was driving his Lexus in Los Angeles’s Jefferson Park neighborhood when a 57-year-old woman stepped in front of his car. She wasn’t in a crosswalk, and police have yet to say why the woman walked in front of Singleton’s car. He pulled over and waited for police, where they determined that he hadn’t been drinking or doing drugs.

“Oscar-nominated director John Singleton was driving a Lexus SUV when it struck and killed a jaywalker who stepped in front of the car, police said Friday. Singleton, 39, immediately stopped his car and waited for police to arrive after the accident Thursday night in the city’s Jefferson Park neighborhood, said Officer Jason Lee, a police spokesman.

“‘Mr. Singleton stopped and identified himself as required by law and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol,’ Lee said. ‘He was questioned and released.’ The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead Friday morning, Lee said. She was identified as Constance Russell, 57, of Los Angeles.

“Singleton, whose debut film, 1991’s ‘Boyz N The Hood,’ earned him two Oscar nominations, has also directed ‘Poetic Justice,’ ‘Shaft,’ and ‘2 Fast 2 Furious.’ He was the producer of ‘Hustle & Flow,’ ‘Black Snake Moan’ and the just-released ‘Illegal Tender.’

[From the Associated Press]

It sounds like it’s just one of those really sad, unfortunate accidents that happen sometimes. Variety announced that Singleton will not be arrested in the accident. Singleton’s never been a guy known for his modesty – in an article by the Hartford Courant released on the Sunday after his accident, he was quoted as saying, “’Even the stuff that I’m doing that’s popcorn, there’s a profundity to it,’ Singleton says. ‘I’ll do a popcorn movie or ghetto movie and it’s to the point of Shakespeare, as much as being a good tragedy.’’ The article doesn’t make mention of the accident - let’s hope he was interviewed before the incident, and isn’t actually quite so boastful and unaffected.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s John Singleton at the “Black Snake Moan” premiere. Header image at the NAACP Image Awards in 2006. Images thanks to PR Photos.