Report: Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney Says a Deer Led to DUI Arrest
Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney offered an explanation for his car crash before being arrested by police in Nashville in September. He said a deer ran in front of his car, causing him to swerve off the road and into a tree line.
TMZ obtained a police affidavit for the incident, which adds that Rooney's airbag deployed. Police say he smelled like alcohol and failed multiple sobriety tests. When asked, the 46-year-old said he had been golfing earlier and went to a friend's house for drinks afterward, admitting he had "one more than I should have."
The Williamson County accident happened at about 4AM on Sept. 9. Rooney took his Instagram page private shortly before news of the accident broke and has not commented.
Rooney's wife, Tiffany Fallon, has also not posted on Instagram since the accident (neither have been active on Twitter for several years). The only person connected to Rooney who has commented was Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox, who told People he'd not spoken to his longtime bandmate since the incident.
"I think God gets your attention in different ways," LeVox told People earlier in October. "I just wish him the best and I hope he gets everything that he needs to get well and take care of whatever issues he's got going on. There's power in prayer."
That comment was deeper in an article that revealed Rooney, according to LeVox, quit the band prior to their 2019 breakup.
"I've never been okay with the way that it ended," LeVox said. "I wasn't happy that Joe Don (Rooney) quit."
The last official Rascal Flatts appearance was in August, when Rooney and Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus were present to accept the Cliffie Stone Icon Award at the ACM Honors in Nashville. Neither man mentioned LeVox on that night.