Reese Witherspoon's recent hair makeover had little to do with vanity.
While taping an episode of the British talk show The Graham Norton Show (airing Friday), the 35-year-old This Means War actress explained that she decided to get bangs after she was hit by an 85-year-old driver.
"It's not funny at all," Witherspoon said of accident, which occurred in September 2011. "They said I am very hard-headed because I landed right on my head and I have a scar, hence my new hairdo. I don't remember much about it, but miraculously — and thank God! — I am fine."
Witherspoon decided not to press charges, though the woman did lose her license. "They gave her a bus pass," the actress explained.
At the time of her accident, a source told Us Weekly "the whole incident really frightened" Witherspoon, mom to daughter Ava, 12, and Deacon, 8 (with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe).
"The odd thing about all of this," the source added, "is that Reese has always been very afraid of being hit by a car. It's been an ongoing fear of hers. She is always the first person to pull people away from the edge of the curb."