Rascal Flatts Member Joe Don Rooney Arrested for DUI

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Guitarist and high harmony singer Joe Don Rooney for the pop country trio Rascal Flatts was arrested early Thursday morning (9-9) for driving under the influence. The 45-year-old was driving near the 1200 block of Hillsboro Road, close to Fieldstone Park just north of Franklin, Tennessee in Williamson County when he crashed into a tree at about 4:00 a.m.

Responding officers determined Rooney was intoxicated, and he was booked into the Williamson County Jail around 7:20 a.m., and released at 10:17 a.m. on $2,500 bond according to Williamson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sharon Puckett. There is no report if Rooney suffered any injuries in the accident.

No further information is available at this time due to the matter being a pending case. Rooney is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on the charge in November.

First formed in 1999 in a nightclub in Nashville’s Printer’s Alley district, Rascal Flatts is comprised of second cousins Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus from Columbus, Ohio, and Joe Don Rooney who is originally from Oklahoma. Rooney filled in one night behind the two relatives, and soon they were performing as a trio. They later were signed to Lyrics Street Records.

Rascal Flatts announced in January of 2020 they would be embarking on a farewell tour, but it was subsequently cancelled due to the pandemic. Then in March of 2021, it appeared the band was done for good as Gary LeVox commenced a solo career oriented more toward the Christian market, and Jay DeMarcus focused more on his side venture called Red Street Records, and was playing in a band called Rise Above. No future plans had been announced by Joe Don Rooney at that time.

Joe Don Rooney has not addressed the incident publicly as of yet. More information if or when it becomes available.

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