She is a hottie!

The New York Daily News has been leaving no stone unturned in its attempt to find out exactly what happened the night that Yankees SP Carl Pavano crashed his car and broke two ribs.

Pavano, if you didn’t hear, fishtailed into a tractor trailer a few weeks back and injured himself, but didn’t tell the Yankees about it until after he took the mound in a minor league rehab start and couldn’t pitch.

Last week the Daily News reported that there was a new wrinkle to the story. Pavano, it seems, was not alone in the car. He had a date.

Her name is Gia Allemand and she is a local beauty pageant champ, winner of Miss Italia, Miss South Beach and Miss American Teen titles.

Recently, Pavano’s parents stepped up to defend their son. His mom told the Daily News, “As a mother it’s breaking my heart to see him crucified like this. All he wants to do is pitch and be part of the team.”

But by far the best part of this non-story is the part where Allemand’s grandparents step up to defend her relationhsip with the pitcher:

Allemand couldn’t be reached yesterday. But her 70-year-old grandmother was told about the accident because the two were supposed to meet the next day.

“She wasn’t hurt or anything,” Terry Allemand said from her West Palm Beach, Fla., home, adding that she did not see her granddaughter the next day.

She said her granddaughter has been dating the Yankee for months and that the two might be “getting serious.”

“I think she likes him and they’ve been dating a while,” the 70-year-old said.

She said she was unhappy about The News’ headline that referred to her granddaughter as a “hottie.”

But grandpa didn’t seem to mind.

“She is a hottie,” he shouted from the background.

Thank God the Daily News is working round the clock to make sure we get all the facts straight.

Fact: Carl Pavano broke two ribs in a car accident and didn’t tell the Yankees until weeks later.

Fact: Pavano wasn’t alone in the car. He was accompanied by beauty pageant winner Gia Allemand.

Fact: Allemand is a hottie.