"RHOC" star Shannon Beador arrested for DUI hit-and-run after crashing into house in Newport Beach
Shannon Beador, one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," was arrested over the weekend after she allegedly crashed into an apartment complex in Newport Beach.
Details on the crash remain unclear at this point, but Beador has been accused of colliding with the building, located on Via Oporto and Via Lido. Beador, on Saturday evening.
The reality television star's vehicle barely missed the front door of one of the apartment units, with visible damage to the building still left behind.
"We heard a loud screeching and a loud noise," said Gaby, who witnessed the car driving away from the crash with the front bumper dragging on the road. "We looked out the window and there was a car driving away after running into the house."
At first, she was worried for the person's well-being, but after seeing them driving away, with oil pouring out from underneath their car, she was disappointed.
"How could they drive away from that, with the oil spilling out the car?"
A trail of spilled oil remains on the street outside of the complex, showing the route the car took as they fled from the spot of the collision.
Beador was arrested by the Newport Beach Police Department for the hit-and-run that occurred while she was allegedly under the influence of drugs or alcohol on Sunday. They found her about a quarter-mile away near the Lido Village shopping area at around 1 a.m.
She was first taken to a hospital for treatment on minor injuries suffered in the crash before she was taken into custody. Police released her a short time later on misdemeanor charges, according to NBPD.
"I spent quite a bit of time with Shannon yesterday," said Beador's attorney, Mike Fell, on Monday. "She is extremely apologetic and remorseful. We will be awaiting the official information on this case as it becomes available, and Shannon is prepared to accept full responsibility for her actions."
KCAL News legal correspondent and celebrity defense attorney Alexandra Kazarian, who has no connection to the case, says that the DUI and hit-and-run are both misdemeanors, unless there was injury involved.
However, DUI cases are traditionally some of the hardest to defend as an attorney.
"When you pick a jury for a DUI, I guarantee you're gonna have half of that jury saying, 'I have a friend or I have a family member who was injured in a DUI wreck and I have no patience for that,'" Kazarian said.
Which is exactly the case for Gaby, who lost a family member in a drunk-driving incident.
"I just hope that people do not take this lightly and they don't think it's okay to get behind a wheel like that, she said. "Especially because it's someone with a platform.
Bravo, who runs "The Real Housewives of Orange County," has not yet released a statement on the incident. It is not believed that they were filming for the show at the time of the crash.