Sixth sense actor pleads no contest to drunken-driving
US actor Haley Joel Osment pleaded no contest to misdemeanour drunken driving and drug possession charges resulting from a July accident in which he crashed his car into a mailbox.
In Glendale, California, Superior Court Judge John Doyle sentenced Osment to three years probation and ordered the 18-year-old star to spend 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education programme, as well as attend at least 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period.
Osment, who did not attend the court hearing, also must pay $1,500 (€1,188) in fines.
The actor’s lawyer, David Wood, entered the no contest pleas on his client’s behalf to one count each of misdemeanour driving under the influence and misdemeanour marijuana possession. Two other charges – another misdemeanour DUI and a vehicle code infraction – were dropped by prosecutors.
Osment fractured a rib and injured his shoulder when he crashed and flipped his 1995 Saturn in La Canada Flintridge on July 20. No one else was in the car, which hit a mailbox mounted on a brick base.
Authorities said the actor’s blood-alcohol level was measured after the accident at 0.16 per cent, twice the legal limit.
Osment’s movie credits include The Sixth Sense, in which he was nominated for an Academy Award, and Pay It Forward.
He recently finished work on the film Home of the Giants.
