Continued from page 1

Falling Apart

Thursday July 26, 2007 12:00 PM EDT

July 24: "It's sad. I believed she was getting better," a friend says of Lohan. Photo by: Courtesy Santa Monica Police Department
Falling Apart| Lindsay Lohan
Later that day, Lohan was defending herself in an e-mail to Access Hollywood's Billy Bush. "I am innocent," she wrote. "Did not do drugs they're not mine . . . I was almost hit by my assistant Tarin's mom. I appreciate everyone giving me my privacy." Still, in the wake of her latest meltdown, those closest to Lohan, who turned 21 on July 2, are grappling with a basic rule of recovery: Getting sober comes one painful day at a time. "I thought everything was fine. Obviously everything wasn't," says a close friend, who spoke to her on July 23. "As a [substance abuser] maybe you hide things from the ones you love." Lohan's mother and former party pal, Dina, 44, told TV's The Insider, "We are doing everything in our power in support of Lindsay." Her father, Michael, 47, himself a recovering addict, said to PEOPLE, "I am heartbroken. It's tearing me apart."

While the L.A. District Attorney has yet to file charges for a previous DUI arrest in May, Lohan's new arrest seems likely to lead to a jail sentence. And her once meteoric career has come to a standstill. "She's created serious problems for herself," says an industry source. "Producers don't want to take on such a risk." Right now there are more pressing issues. "Addiction is a terrible and vicious disease," said Lohan lawyer Blair Berk in a July 24 statement. For now, she added, "she is safe, she is out of custody, and receiving medical care."

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