July 24: "It's sad. I believed she was getting better," a friend says of Lohan. Photo by: Courtesy Santa Monica Police Department |
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."
