Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog
Jarred Drake Bell, former child actor, is best known for his long-standing role on Nickelodeon’s “Drake and Josh” as the brother of the character played by Josh Peck. In addition to this memorable role, he also gained notoriety for playing the junior-high-school aged version of John Cusack’s character in “High Fidelity.”
According to a recent news feature from the Santa Monica Observer, the 30-year-old actor has just pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges in California and was sentenced to four days in county jail followed by four years of what is known as summary probation. He was taken into custody from court directly to serve his four days. However, it is unlikely that he would actually serve the entire four days due to jail overcrowding issues across the county and the way in which jail time is calculated. As long as you serve any part of day, it generally counts as a day, even if that means you are being released at dawn on your last day. While jail time is not always handed down in a DUI case not involving a drunk driving accident, it should be noted that his was the actor’s second offensive within 10 years, according to reports and court records.
At his plea hearing prosecutors said police pulled Bell over when they observed his car driving in an erratic manner on a county road. After pulling him over, they immediately suspected he was under the influence of alcohol. They performed a series of standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) and asked him to take a breath alcohol test to determine his actual breath alcohol concentration (BAC); however, he refused to submit to any chemical testing, according to prosecutors.
In addition to going to jail for four days, as part of his probation, Bell was ordered to take an approved traffic alcohol program. This program is designed to assess whether the attendees have any substance abuse problems and teach the dangers of drunk driving. One of the things we have seen is that that many people are afraid of getting arrested for drunk driving but are not afraid of being in a drunk driving accident.
It is not entirely clear why that is, but there are a variety of possible reasons. One thing to keep in mind is that is when someone is drunk, they will have reduced inhibitions and not be thinking clearly. This is one of the reasons people are willing to drive drunk in the first place, since they are much less risk averse. Another thing is that that all of the anti-drunk driving campaigns we hear on the radio and see on roadside billboards tend to focus on how much it will cost if you are arrested and not about the lives that can be ruined in a serious drunk driving crash. It might be that they make these ads because they also believe that people are more concerned about being arrested for an OUI than they are about being in a Boston drunk driving accident, or it might be the other way around, and people are getting these fears from the ads.
If you or someone you love has been injured a Boston drunk driving accident, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Jared Drake Bell Guilty of DUI; Actor Pleads No Contest, September 15, 2016, By Christine Emerson, Santa Monica Observer
More Blog Entries:
Bruins Star Ray Bourque Arrested for Drunk Driving After Car Accident, July 5, 2016, Boston Drunk Driving Injury Lawyer Blog