Nicole Richie after the arrest on Monday (Reuters)

Burbank, Dec. 12 (AP): Nicole Richie was arrested early yesterday for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs after her car was reported headed the wrong way on a freeway.

Richie, 25, star of The Simple Life reality series and daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie, was arrested without incident at 1.45 am local time after she failed a field sobriety test given by California Highway Patrol officers, officer Todd Workman said.

Richie’s 2005 black Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle was stopped in the car pool lane of a Burbank freeway.

Other motorists had placed emergency calls around 12.30 am about a car headed against traffic, Workman said. Descriptions of the vehicle matched Richie’s.

When officers arrived, they found her car facing the right direction.

Richie was placed in the passenger seat of her car, which was found to be operable, and an officer drove the car off the freeway.

“She volunteered the information that she had smoked marijuana and taken Vicodin,” the prescription painkiller, Workman said. No drugs were found on her or in the car.

Richie was booked for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, tested for drugs and released later yesterday morning, Workman said. The results of the test have not been determined, he said.

Bail was set at $15,000, but Richie was released on her own recognisance, Glendale police agent John Balian said. A February 7 arraignment in Glendale superior court was scheduled.

Richie told officers she weighed 38 kg, Workman said. Her driver’s licence listed her weight as 100 pounds (45 kg). In an interview earlier this year with a magazine, Richie acknowledged she was “too thin” and was receiving treatment to gain weight.