Police have charged Robert Todd Harrell, bassist for 3 Doors Down, with vehicular homicide by intoxication after causing a fatal car crash that claimed the life of 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders Jr., reports News Ltd.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department report that the co-founder of the ‘Kryptonite’ rockers was arrested on Friday 19th April in connection with the fatal interstate crash and was held over the weekend, then charged on Sunday 21st April.
Police report that the 41-year-old member of the American rock band was speeding through the Nashville suburb of Hermitage in his 2011 Cadillac CTS when his car clipped the Ford pickup truck being driven by Mr. Shoulders Jr. The pickup spun out of control and struck a guardrail before going down an embankment and being overturned.
Mr Shoulders Jr was allegedly not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle, later pronounced dead on arrival when an ambulance brought him to hospital. Meanwhile, officers report that the 3 Doors Down bassist’s vehicle crashed into a retaining wall and stopped short of the Ford pickup truck, about 400m away.
Police asked Harrell to perform a sobriety test and he showed signs of impairment, with a statement reading that the musician admitted to “consuming hard cider and taking prescription Lortab and Xanax.”
The police statement also says that Harrell was charged with bringing controlled substances into the jail upon arrest. A body research revealed a plastic bag hidden inside his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, 24 Oxycodone pills and four Oxymorphone pills.
Early Sunday 21st April, jail officials said Harrell remained in custody in leiu of $US 100,000 bond ($97,280) and had not indicated if the musician had an attorney.
It’s not the first time that the bassist has landed in trouble with the law over shoddy driving. Harrell was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after allegedly crashing into a vehicle in July 2012, as E Online reports. He was charged with DUI and for not wearing a seat belt and later released on a $1,000 bond, while the driver of the other vehicle was taken to a nearby hospital – treated for neck and back injuries.
Harrell is due to face court this Thursday morning, just one day before 3 Doors Down were scheduled to play a show in Bossier City, Louisiana as part of their current North American Tour off the back of last year’s Greatest Hits release.
The band posted a statement on their official website on Saturday that read: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.”
There is no additional word from the band how Harrell’s arrest and potential court sentencing will affect their current tour dates or their forthcoming trek with Daughtry. You can view the bassist’s mugshot below.
