Judge mulls actor's fate
2007-08-03 09:16
Beverly Hills, California - Former Prison Break actor Lane Garrison, who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving in a 2006 crash that killed a teenage passenger, was ordered on Thursday to undergo a 90-day evaluation in a prison to help a judge decide what his sentence should be.
Garrison will undergo a "diagnostic" by parole officers and psychologists before returning to appear before Superior Court Judge Elden S Fox on October 31.
Garrison, 27, was driving a 2001 Land Rover on December 2 when he lost control and rammed a tree. The crash killed Vahagn Setian, a Beverly Hills High School student who would have turned 18 on Wednesday. Two other passengers, both 15-year-old girls, survived.
Garrison had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20%, more than twice the legal limit for driving, and was under the influence of cocaine, according to police.
About a dozen of the victim's friends and relatives were in court, all wearing T-shirts with Setian's picture on the front and the James Dean saying "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today" on the back.
Garrison pleaded guilty in May to one count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, one count of driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15% or higher and a misdemeanour of providing alcohol to a minor.
Garrison apologised to Setian's family during the court proceeding.
"I relive that night every day and I think about the bad decision I made that day. All I can say to you is, 'I'm so sorry,"' he said.
Garrison's character on Fox's Prison Break - Tweener - was killed in the show's October 2 episode. The Dallas native's other credits include the 2006 film Crazy and an episode of the short-lived 2005 ABC series Night Stalker.
Garrison was recently featured in a public service announcement encouraging viewers not to drink and drive.
The announcement re-enacts his crash and he appears to be holding back tears as he talks about what a stupid and costly mistake he made.
- AP