LOS ANGELES Actor-director Mel Gibson lost control at the wheel and crashed his Maserati into a rocky hillside in Malibu, but walked away unharmed, the California Highway Patrol said Monday.

The accident late Sunday west of Los Angeles involved no other vehicle and the Oscar-winning actor was neither drunk nor under the influence of drugs at the wheel (DUI), the police said in a statement.

"For unknown reasons, Mr Gibson steered his car to the right and struck the rock hillside," the CHP said, adding that after making a statement to police officers at the scene, he "received a ride home from a friend."

"His vehicle was towed from the scene, DUI is not suspected in the accident," it added.

The road accident follows a troubled few weeks for the Australia-educated actor, who is under investigation for domestic violence after his former partner Oksana Grigorieva released recordings of abusive telephone calls he allegedly made.

Gibson's driving habits made the headlines in 2006 when he was arrested at the wheel with 1.5 times the legal *la*hd-alcohol limit. He was sentenced to three years probation and fined 1,300 dollars, after undergoing alcohol rehabilitation.

His arrest at the time exploded into a major scandal when he made anti-Semitic remarks to the highway patrol.