In the mid-’90s, Daniel Johns fronted grunge band Silverchair. Today, the 43-year-old struggles with mental health problems and alcoholism. In March, he causes an accident while drunk – but he does not have to go to prison, as a court has now decided.
Daniel Johns, frontman and guitarist for grunge band Silverchair, which formed in 1995 and broke up in 2011, is not behind bars for his driving offense. Nonetheless, he was severely punished. The Australian singer is now on trial for causing a drunk accident in March.
According to the Guardian, the musician’s lawyer explained the accident and his client’s alcohol problem with his complex mental problems from his time as a child star. He was only 14 when the band was formed.
In addition, the release of his new album put him under pressure. The battle with anorexia in his early 20s would have resulted in reactive arthritis that flares up under stress – he would have self-treated with alcohol. In addition, a few weeks after the accident, he voluntarily went to a rehab clinic and had given up alcohol ever since.
The reasoning worked: Judge Ian Cheetham said John’s background and circumstances were exceptional. He gave the musician a ten-month “intensive correction order”. He was ordered to continue his treatment and not to get behind the wheel for seven months. When he gets his car back, it must also be fitted with an alcohol reader for 24 months.
Johns drove his gray SUV out of a gas station on the Pacific Highway in March and crashed into a van. Both vehicles landed on a natural strip. The passenger in the van was taken to the hospital.
