Former Rascal Flatts Member Joe Don Rooney Pleads Guilty To DUI After Blaming Crash On A Deer

Joe Don Rooney with a serious face

I guess the deer was innocent after all?

Former Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney pleaded guilty to DUI this week in Williamson County, Tennessee.

Rooney was arrested in September 2021 after being involved in a car crash at around 4 am, hitting a tree in the 1200 block of Hillsboro Road.

It was later reported by TMZ that Rooney initially blamed the crash on Bambi, telling the police a deer ran out in front of him and made him swerve off the road. When they told him he smelled like alcohol, he admitted that he had played golf earlier in the day and then went to a friend’s house to have a few drinks.

Joe Don admitted to having “one drink more than I should have.”

Now after his guilty plea to DUI, a Class A misdemeanor, Rooney will serve two days in jail, with 11 months 27 days suspended. He will also have to complete a DUI course and will lose his drivers license, though he’s eligible to apply for a restricted drivers license with a built-in breathalyzer in his car.

So much for blaming it on a deer.

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