Shannon Beador has been charged after she was arrested for DUI hit and run.
The Real Housewives of Orange County star, 59, was charged with two misdemeanors by the Orange County District Attorney on Friday. She is facing one count of DUI and one count of hit and run following the incident last month.
The reality star had a .24 blood alcohol level, which is three times the legal limit, law enforcement officials told TMZ, who was first to report the news.
The Newport Beach Police Department previously confirmed that Beador was “ arrested at 1:17 a.m. on Sept. 17 after fleeing the scene from a collision that caused property damage.” The reality star was booked on two misdemeanors — hit-and-run and DUI alcohol — and released on a citation, per NBPD.
According to an initial report by TMZ, police found her walking her dog after allegedly abandoning her car in the middle of the road.
Beador’s lawyer, Michael L. Fell, told in a statement on Sept. 18 that his client was “prepared to accept full responsibility.”
“She is extremely apologetic and remorseful,” Fell stated at the time. “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.”
That same day, Beador’s friend and fellow Bravo star Jeff Lewis addressed the situation on his SiriusXM talk show, admitting he was “shocked” and that her actions were uncharacteristic.
“Unfortunately [Shannon] got a DUI on Saturday night. She was also in a car accident. She was injured, so she’s going to be recovering,” Lewis, 53, shared. “Shannon and I have been friends for a very long time. I was shocked — she called me yesterday and we talked for awhile — and I was shocked because I’ve never known Shannon to ever, ever drink and drive.”
“I will tell you she’s accepting full accountability,” he continued. “She is ashamed, she’s embarrassed.”
The Bravo star also noted that he didn’t believe his friend was “an alcoholic,” but instead “going through a lot of personal struggles.”
“People are like, ‘Oh she needs rehab,’ ‘Oh she’s an alcoholic’ — I don’t think Shannon is an alcoholic,” he added. “I think she’s been going through a lot of personal struggles right now, and I think she has been leaning on alcohol — but I don’t think she’s an alcoholic.”
On the Sept. 18 episode of her podcast Two Ts in a Pod, fellow RHOC star Tamra Judge discussed Beador’s actions with co-host Teddi Mellencamp and guest Cynthia Bailey. The trio also expressed their shock over the situation.
“I’m literally shaking right now. I feel like I’m going to throw up,” the reality star, 56, said of the news at the time. “I don’t even know if it’s true. I talked to Shannon yesterday, she didn’t say a word to me — nothing.”
Another RHOC alum, Braunwyn Windham-Burke also spoke up about Beador’s arrest, noting that she had been “going through a hard year.”
“I know Shannon has a big heart and hope this can become her story where this is a moment when everything changed for the better,” Windham-Burke, 45, told . “Obviously, what happened is not OK. You should never drink and drive. It was a very unfortunate night for her, but fortunately no one was hurt.”
Earlier this year, Beador spoke up about feeling “blindsided” after her boyfriend of three-and-a-half-years, John Janssen, ended their relationship.
“I’ve never loved anyone more in my life,” Beador shared on an episode of RHOC. “I was hopeful this was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted it to work out. I’ve never loved anyone like I’ve loved John. But clearly, he didn’t feel the same way.”
Additionally, the star was allegedly removed from a bar earlier this year after a “screaming” argument with Janssen’s daughter. While she later acknowledged the disagreement, she vehemently denied that she was “kicked out.”
“The lights were up [and] they were saying, ‘Everybody wrap it up,’” Beador said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “I wasn’t kicked out, but I asked security to help me with my Uber. That was it. … I absolutely was not kicked out.”
