Former Silverchair singer Daniel Johns has been charged with high-range drink driving after being involved in a car accident on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, New South Wales police said that a 42-year-old man had been arrested after a crash in the state’s Hunter region at 10.30pm the previous evening.
Police say the SUV he was driving and a southbound van collided in the southbound lane, with both vehicles coming to a rest in a nearby nature strip.
The 51-year-old male driver of the van and his 55-year-old female passenger were taken to John Hunter hospital in Newcastle, but have since been released.
After allegedly returning a positive roadside breath test, Johns was arrested and taken to a police station, where he underwent a secondary breath analysis, which police allege returned an alleged reading of 0.157.
In a statement on Instagram earlier on Thursday, Johns had announced he would be checking himself into rehab after having a panic attack and becoming “lost” on the road.
“As you know, my mental health is a work in progress. I have good days and bad days but it’s something I always have to manage,” he wrote. “Over the last week I began to experience panic attacks. Last night I got lost while driving and I was in an accident. I am OK, everyone is OK.
“Alongside my therapy, I’ve been self-medicating with alcohol to deal with my anxiety and depression. I know this is not sustainable or healthy.
“I have to step back now as I’m self-admitting to a rehabilitation centre and I don’t know how long I’ll be there. Appreciate your love and support as always.”
Johns is due to appear in court on 11 April.
The news comes weeks after the release of Johns’s upcoming solo album FutureNever was delayed, having being pushed to 22 April, Johns’s birthday. A spokesperson for Johns confirmed on Thursday that the album release would go ahead.
Johns has been open about his mental health struggles since his early 20s, first revealing he was battling both anorexia and anxiety in 1999, at the height of Silverchair’s fame.
He was then diagnosed with reactive arthritis, an inflammation of the joints that left him in severe pain.
Johns recently described himself as “a pretty fragile person”, saying it “took me years and years and years of really heavy, heavy therapy” to find happiness.
“I gave up millions and millions and possibilities endlessly just to be internally happy,” he said on The Project.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
