Sam Hunt Arrested for Drunk Driving in Nashville
EDM country artist Sam Hunt was arrested on charges of drunk driving early Thursday morning (11-21) by the Nashville Metro Police Department, and was taken to jail at 6:30 a.m. on charges of driving under the influence and having an open container. Hunt was driving the wrong way on Ellington Parkway near Ben Allen Road, traveling south in the northbound lanes when police were alerted. He was also swerving in his lane and driving erratically.
Police initiated a traffic stop where they observed Sam Hunt had bloodshot eyes, and two empty beer cans near him. Instead of providing a Tennessee drivers license, Hunt tried to hand police a credit card and a passport. He also admitted to officers that he had been drinking “recently.” According to a police report, Sam Hunt’s blood alcohol level was .173—over twice the legal limit.
Hunt was released from jail at roughly 9 a.m. on a $2,500 bond according to WKRN, and a court date has been set for Jan. 17, 2020. Dash cam video was taken of the incident, but has yet to be released.
Sam Hunt shook the country music world with the release of his song “Leave The Night On” in 2014, which took country music in a more urban direction than ever before. His debut album Montevallo remains one of the biggest selling albums in recent memory, being certified 3X platinum, and launching 5 total #1’s. But Hunt disappeared somewhat after the fame, saying publicly he didn’t always connect with the music, and contemplated retiring. He released a new single after a long hiatus called “Kinfolks” earlier this year.
More information when it becomes available.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:14 am
Look! Its the most country thing he’s ever done!!
November 21, 2019 @ 11:16 am
Actually, there is nothing country about being such a lightweight that you can’t drive on the right side of the road with a BAC of .17. That’s about 8 beers over a 5 hour period for a 175 lb male, according to a nifty online calculator. You should never drink and drive. But, he did, and did so in a way that a 100lb 16 year old would after about 5 Zimas…..which is EXACTLY what one would expect out of Sam Hunt.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:16 am
Thursday morning. 6am. School kids and working people. Classy.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:16 am
Most “country” thing he’s ever done. I’m not gonna hold this one against him. not exactly crime of the century stuff. Although I can’t think of a good reason not to call Lyft or Uber. His crimes against country music should be the reason why he’s in jail.
November 21, 2019 @ 3:07 pm
Really? What a pathetic unfeeling thing to say. People/families are heading to work, daycare etc, there is nothing light about driving drunk. Go tell that to the families of people/children who’ve been killed by drunk drivers or those who are still alive but live with the scars every day. He was damn lucky not to have hurt or killed anyone. There’s no way his music is a worse crime then putting the actual lives of innocent people at risk.
November 21, 2019 @ 4:30 pm
Oh take a joke.
November 24, 2019 @ 1:41 pm
Go learn what a joke is, cause nothing in there was a joke. “His crimes against country music should be the reason why he’s in jail” that’s not a joke, that’s just a stupid thing to say.
November 22, 2019 @ 7:48 am
but nobody was hurt, were they? and for the record there are hundreds of thousand car related fatalities a year, and only a small percentage are alcohol related. Was it a good idea for him to get behind the wheel? no, it wasn’t which is why I added the part about taking Lyft or Uber. and yes, his crimes against country music are much worse.
November 22, 2019 @ 2:41 pm
> and only a small percentage are alcohol related.
The numbers may vary a little depending on the sources, but a quick google search indicates that the percentage was 29 in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) claims that “drunk driving remains the leading cause of death on our nation’s roads”.
Drunk driving in these statistics are defined as follows:
—
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes are crashes that involve at least one driver or a motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 grams per deciliter or above, the legal definition of alcohol-impaired driving in most states.
—
The negative effect of alcohol on driving is measurable before it reaches the legal limit, so the real numbers are likely higher.
November 22, 2019 @ 7:46 pm
What’s your point? Drinking and driving is a bad idea. Haven’t we already established this?
November 24, 2019 @ 1:43 pm
The fact that you still believe his music to be worse then putting other people’s lives in danger just further proves how truly stupid & immature you are.
November 24, 2019 @ 2:01 pm
I tried to point out that drunk driving is the leading cause of death on US highways and that you are very wrong when you state that only a small percentage of car related fatalities are alcohol related.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:17 am
This is the most country thing he’s ever done
November 24, 2019 @ 2:02 pm
This was a reply to Kross and not to nzcountrymusic.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:18 am
This is the most country thing he’s ever done
November 21, 2019 @ 9:20 am
Guess he was drivin’ with his eyes closed
November 21, 2019 @ 9:44 am
Beat me to it.
November 21, 2019 @ 10:42 am
Too bad he didn’t know every curve like the back of his hand
November 21, 2019 @ 3:25 pm
Was he driving on a backroad that resembled a body?
November 21, 2019 @ 9:28 am
Driving Drunk down the wrong side of the road ain’t Country. Nothing cool or Country about putting innocent lives near death. The Country thing to do would be call for a ride( thousands of users/lifts in Nashville these days) get in that uber drunk as shit and I’m Sam Hunt and I’m a Piece of Shit. That would be about as Country as he will ever get.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:44 am
Sam drunk in the back of a cop car.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:47 am
“EDM country artist.”
That’s awesome.
November 21, 2019 @ 9:50 am
EDM country artist, nice I see what you did there!
November 21, 2019 @ 9:55 am
Goddamn, he could’ve killed somebody.
November 21, 2019 @ 10:15 am
More time in court means less time mixing banjo loops into trap beats on his Mac
November 21, 2019 @ 10:20 am
Technically, he’s an EDM “pop” “artist,” but whatever.
November 21, 2019 @ 10:31 am
Funny thing is, some legends of country music were famous for drunken antics and those tales are humorously retold.
Hunt is a disgrace to the genre (in every way) but it is amazing how some people are given a free pass merely because their music is good.
November 21, 2019 @ 10:42 am
Still not the most serious crime he’s ever committed in Nashville…
November 21, 2019 @ 10:45 am
He looks like 8 cans of shark shit
November 21, 2019 @ 10:48 am
Early in the morning when the sun does rise
Layin’ in the [jail cell] bed with bloodshot eyes
November 21, 2019 @ 10:49 am
I’d get shitfaced, too, if I was putting out “music” like Kinfolks…
seriously though, very glad no one was hurt. This could have been a terrible tragedy at 6am on a school day. Or any day. Hopefully he learns from this and it never happens again.
November 21, 2019 @ 11:00 am
Miller, Jack and Mad Dog will do you everytime, but their no good for staying to the right side of that line….if Johnny Law don’t get you, somebody else could die…so do yourself a favor, don’t go driving while your high.”
Public service message courtesy of Wayne Hancock.
November 21, 2019 @ 11:04 am
How many wine coolers did it take for him to blow .17?
November 21, 2019 @ 11:31 am
Next announcement will be his divorce.
November 21, 2019 @ 11:45 am
I didnt realize he had a husband.
November 21, 2019 @ 2:23 pm
Teehee, a gay joke! Grow up.
November 21, 2019 @ 6:48 pm
She doesn’t.
November 21, 2019 @ 11:47 am
These people who are commenting “most country thing he’s ever done” are despicable. Drunk driving leads to thousands of deaths every year- it’s not something to be taken lightly. He could have killed someone, he could have taken an innocent life. There’s nothing “country” about murdering innocent people. I hope his career tanks after people catch a glimpse of how reckless and irresponsible he is. Sadly, in this world we live in this will probably become a “funny story” for him.
It angers me to no end when people don’t drink responsibly and get a taxi or a DD or an Uber or SOMETHING
November 21, 2019 @ 12:08 pm
Not saying its a good thing but its definitely country to drive drunk and endanger innocent lives.
Haven’t you ever seen Dukes of Hazzard, Smokey and the bandit, Cannonball Run etc, all involve a lot of really stupid dangerous driving.
Country music is about bad decision. Or it should be anyway.
November 21, 2019 @ 3:13 pm
“Country music is about bad decision. Or it should be anyway.” Go give that excuse to some poor person whose having to spend the rest of their lives in a wheel chair because of a pathetic immature selfish thought proccess like the one you obviously have. Or better yet, how about you try it out on the parents of a child whose died as the result of someone driving drunk. There is nothing cool about being a selfish wanker who puts innocent people’s lives at risk. Grow up, those were make believe TVshows, not real life, in real life people die and whole families get torn apart.
November 21, 2019 @ 3:21 pm
And people dying and families getting torn apart makes great country music.
One Paper Kid (driver was drunk or he just didn’t care)
Don’t tell mama (i was drinking)
Wreck on the highway (whiskey and blood mixed together
etc etc
Country music is full of people who didn’t grow up and have to live with the consequences.
And yes they were movies, inspired by the same kind of stuff that happens around my area.
Just more backroads and less highways.
November 21, 2019 @ 12:11 pm
thank goodness they got him off the road before he was being charged with killing someone .
maybe this shake-up will open his eyes to the waste his ‘artistic ‘ life has been thus far and inspire more ‘substance’ in his musical efforts .
November 21, 2019 @ 12:19 pm
At least have Dan and Shay come and pick you up or something. Boyfriend Country artists need to look out for one another.
November 21, 2019 @ 12:29 pm
Can this hault his career?? I remember Michael Ray was arrested for being drunk in a McDonald’s parking lot….This scenario seems much worse… I assume the bad publicity could delay his 2nd album release and cause his current single (riding high at #11 on the radio charts) to be pulled from radio??
Thank goodness no one was hurt.. I hope Sam gets help (who gets drunk at 6am??) And I hope he learns from the errors of his way
November 22, 2019 @ 7:57 am
Some people say no publicity is bad. I was almost wondering if he was driving erratically on purpose to make a publicity stunt (as said repeatedly in the comments, people are attributing this to ‘country’ behavior). It takes a lot to make someone drive on the wrong side of the road.
November 22, 2019 @ 9:03 am
There is no possible way this is a publicity stunt any more than Riley Green wanted to spurn a race debate behind his song. Publicity stunts are one thing. Placing yourself on the wrong side of what is a very uptight and judgemental time in history is another. Being caught with an open container at a Waffle House while making a ruckus would be one thing. Driving on the wrong side of the road and endangering other people’s lives is another.
November 21, 2019 @ 12:35 pm
It really disturbs me how many songs glorify drinking and driving (I think Trigger did an article about this a few years ago). It is probably a safe bet that everyone on this board knows someone who has lost their life to a drunk driver. I happen to know a whole family that was killed by one irresponsible person.
That being said, I’m glad he didn’t hurt anyone, and I hope that Mr. Hunt learned a valuable lesson.
November 21, 2019 @ 12:58 pm
His douchebaggery shines through more than ever in that mugshot.
November 21, 2019 @ 1:26 pm
Hi grin sickens me!
November 21, 2019 @ 1:56 pm
Impressed that you reported just the facts here, without injecting any negative opinion (except for “EDM country”).
November 21, 2019 @ 1:56 pm
Yeah, a “true” country artist would have been riding a lawn mower.
November 21, 2019 @ 2:08 pm
Maybe y he’s drinking he will run his body off a backroad
November 21, 2019 @ 2:09 pm
Maybe y he’s drinking he will run his body off a backroad
November 21, 2019 @ 2:10 pm
Oops my phone did the comment twice
November 21, 2019 @ 2:40 pm
Call a fucking Uber, you shithead.
November 21, 2019 @ 3:42 pm
I am surprised. I would have thought that Sam Hunt would use a self driving car.
November 21, 2019 @ 6:09 pm
Wouldn’t surprise me if this was a publicity stunt concocted by his label.
November 21, 2019 @ 6:17 pm
I saw the picture before I read the title of the article and thought, “What is Michael Fassbender doing on SCM???”
Then I read the article. With his blood alcohol limit that high and getting pulled over that early in the morning, he’s damn lucky he didn’t hit someone else or hit something. If he’s smart, he’ll learn to call for a ride next time.
November 21, 2019 @ 6:46 pm
I get a kick out of all the apoplexy over driving drunk. Of course, I’d be relieved to know that the guy who plowed into a school bus was staring at his phone and not piss drunk. That’s just me.
November 21, 2019 @ 7:23 pm
It’s because of some other dipshit doing the same thing that my youngest daughter is a widow at 28 years old. And him being a “celebrity” means he will weasel out of any real punishment.
November 21, 2019 @ 7:41 pm
As a Sam Hunt fan, What a bonehead.
November 21, 2019 @ 8:06 pm
I find it funny how Hank Williams sr. Released a real song and it’s still considered county but modern guys talking about modern Life isn’t.
November 22, 2019 @ 7:44 am
Serious question: Are you really comparing “moderm guys talking…” to Hank Fucking Williams?
November 21, 2019 @ 8:19 pm
“Well I was drunk the day my ma….got outta prison.”
November 21, 2019 @ 9:07 pm
This comment section is like a honey pot for the POS country fans.
Nothing funny about drunk driving the wrong way down a road
November 21, 2019 @ 9:32 pm
Shoulda had a House Party.
November 21, 2019 @ 10:10 pm
So he was supposed to release a song called Sinning With You thats now blocked on Spotify…
November 21, 2019 @ 11:51 pm
Hmmm….
November 22, 2019 @ 12:12 am
Greyed our, whatever you want to call it. And it’s not showing up on Apple Music at all.
If you google “Sam Hunt sinning with you spotify”, it leads to the single page.
I’m sure there can be a number of reasons why, but the timing seems too coincidental.
November 22, 2019 @ 7:13 am
Well, this increases his country cred at least. He’s got a mug shot now, and he drinks beer. Might be an Outlaw pretty soon.
November 22, 2019 @ 7:53 am
Lol.
A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do…to promote his shitty new single.
Next stop: Dr. Phil.
November 22, 2019 @ 11:05 am
who gives a shit? let’s give Sam Hunt more media coverage by giving a shit about his life.
Why is this news? He is human and makes mistakes like all of us. SO we are to either like him more now or like him less? I am so confused on why this is an article.
HOW ABOUT YOU DO AN ALBUM REVIEW FOR CREED FISHER?!? THAT MAKES MORE SENSE THAN ALL OF THIS BULL SHIT.
November 22, 2019 @ 11:39 am
You give a shit. That’s why you clicked and commented. If you want to read an album review, go read one. I’ve posted nearly 90 of them so far this year and counting.
A major country music star being arrested is newsworthy on a major country music website, especially now that it resulted in his latest single getting pulled.
The Creed Fisher album is being considered for review. In fact I was just listening to it again yesterday. Great sounding record. Songwriting needs help.
November 22, 2019 @ 6:10 pm
If only he was driving a lawnmower, then it would be funny and no judgment rendered.
November 22, 2019 @ 8:25 pm
now he’ll get scammed by the douche from 1-800-no cuffs
November 23, 2019 @ 5:10 am
Gangsta rappers were “modern guys talking” about the realities of their lives too. Are you going to say 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. ought to be considered country? Or, as you put it, “county”?
November 23, 2019 @ 8:51 am
I wonder how many diehard Sam Hunt fanse frequent SCM, or how many of them really think of him as a country music artist. I know I don’t.
So I guess it’s “news”, and all publicity against drinking and driving is good publicity.But I really don’t care about Sam Hunt’s new single. I visit SCM hoping to find the real deal, and Sam Hunt is definitely not the real deal. And I do read many of your reviews, and I have discovered a lot of great music here. I don’t care about popcountry, but I guess it’s nice to have such a big pissing target.