Former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, who pleaded guilty in April to a drunk driving charge in his native Australia, was sentenced Wednesday.
The 43-year-old singer was given a 10-month “intensive corrections order” – a sentence served in the community under strict conditions. He is not allowed to drive for seven months and then will be required to have an alcohol-reading interlock device in his car for another 24 months.
Magistrate Ian Cheetham said putting Johns behind bars “will not achieve an appropriate result for him or the community.”
Johns was three times over the legal limit for alcohol when the SUV he was driving crossed over into oncoming traffic and crashed into a van. Two people were treated for minor injuries.
After the accident, Johns announced via Instagram that he was admitting himself to a rehab centre because he was “self-medicating with alcohol to deal with my PTSD, anxiety and depression [and] I know this is not sustainable or healthy.”
Johns’ lawyer Bryan Wrench said in court that his client has not consumed alcohol since completing a rehab program.
In April, Johns said in a message shared on Instagram that he takes “full responsibility for my actions” on the night of the crash. “I am deeply remorseful and I am working every day to make amends.”
Johns has released two albums since Silverchair announced an indefinite hiatus in 2011. The most recent, FutureNever, topped the Australian charts earlier this year.