Lindsay Lohan Troubled Star in Rehab

Lindsay Lohan from a child star she ended up in and out of rehab.

July 24 should have marked a new start for Lindsay Lohan. Eleven days after finishing a 46-day stint at Promises rehab clinic, the actress was sporting an electronic anklet as proof of a new sober life—and it seemed she might have straightened out. On her schedule: a taping of a Tonight Show segment to promote her new movie, I Know Who Killed Me, and an afternoon tango lesson to prepare for her next role in the romance Dare to Love Me. But she never made it to either appointment. Around 1:30 that morning, Lohan took the wheel of a white SUV in pursuit of a vehicle driven by Michelle Peck, the mother of Tarin Graham, one of her assistants—and seemingly crashed all hopes of a comeback. Responding to a call from Peck, claiming that someone—a someone who turned out to be Lohan—was chasing her through the streets of Santa Monica, Calif., local police later arrested Lohan for DUI (her blood alcohol level was .13; the legal limit is .08), driving with a suspended license and—after finding a small amount of the drug in her pocket during a search—cocaine possession. After posting $25,000 bail, Lohan was released. During the ordeal, says one cop, "she was crying and upset."

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 (see box). 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."