Hallmark Alum Charged in Hit & Run: Report

Heavy Actress charged in hit and run accident

Former “NYPD Blue” star and Hallmark Channel alum Kim Delaney has been accused of fleeing the scene after crashing into a motorcyclist in November 2022, according to TMZ. A new lawsuit and charges against the actress have brought the incident to light in recent days.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ on January 23, 2024, Delaney has just been sued by the victim, a man named Dzhamal Badalov, in civil court. She has also been charged with a hit and run, the outlet reported. Radar Online also obtained the court documents and said Delaney is due in a Los Angeles courtroom on the morning of January 30.

Here’s what you need to know:

Kim Delaney is Accused of Leaving the Scene After Hitting Motorcyclist

Actress Kim Delaney in 2018

According to TMZ, Badalov has sued Delaney, 65, for the accident that allegedly occurred when he was stopped at a red light in November 2022 after, he claimed, the actress was “driving erratically down Venice Boulevard” in L.A.

In his lawsuit, Badalov said witnesses saw Delaney’s car swerving in and out and lanes before she crashed into his motorcycle, per TMZ. He also said the impact sent him flying into the road and that Delaney tried to drive away, but was stopped by bystanders. TMZ obtained a photo taken at the scene of a motorcycle tipped over in a crosswalk in front of a black car.

Badalov claimed, per TMZ, that Delaney got out of the car and used her phone to call someone, but seemed “completely out of and disoriented,” suggesting she was intoxicated. Badalov alleged in his suit that the person on the other end of the line wanted Delaney to “pay him off” to ignore what had happened and not to call the police. But Badalov said, per TMZ, that he refused to do so.

The person on the phone, Badalov alleged, then told Delaney to flee the scene. Badalov claimed in his suit she did leave and he now wants damages, TMZ reported.

Meanwhile, a separate criminal case has been opened in L.A. against Delaney for a hit and run, the outlet said, which added that the claims in the police report are similar to those made by Badalov in his lawsuit.

At the time of publication, Delaney had not commented on the lawsuit or criminal charges.

Inside Kim Delaney’s Professional & Personal Life

Delaney has maintained a fairly active acting career since her heyday on the TV series “NYPD Blue,” for which she won an Emmy and “Army Wives. She has starred in multiple TV movies and appeared in various TV shows. Her Hallmark credits include 2011’s “Finding a Family” and 2017’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Home Again.”

From 2020 to 2021, she appeared in 45 episodes of “General Hospital,” according to IMDb, and received a 2021 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Star in a Drama Series. Most recently, she starred in the August 2023 Lifetime movie “The Gilgo Beach Killer.”

Delaney has faced some challenges in her personal life, however. She was married to actor Charles Grant from 1984 to 1988, per the Daily Mail. The year after their split, she married Cortese and they had a son, Jack, but they divorced in 1994. She was then engaged to producer Alan Barnette from 1997–2006.

It appears Delaney married her third husband, whose name has not been made public, shortly before her alleged 2022 hit and run occurred, based on her Instagram updates. On January 2, 2023, she wished her followers a “majical 2023” and shared a photo of herself dressed in white, holding a bouquet and embracing an unidentified man. She has shared other photos with him since, including one in which she included the hashtag #hubby.

Delaney shared a similar photo on October 11 of that year and wrote, “Happy Anniversary to My best friend! My soulmate! My heart! My world! Beyond…! 💚💋”

Delaney has reportedly also battled alcohol addiction in the past. According to CBS News, she was in rehab twice in the early 2000s for alcohol addiction. She was also arrested in 2002 on suspicion of drunk driving but refused a breathalyzer test and later pleaded no contest.

In 2011, she made headlines when she was pulled offstage in the middle of an incoherent speech honoring former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, according to The Hollywood Reporter.