On May 21, 2007, Garrison, age 27, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving for a December 2, 2006 crash that killed 17-year-old Beverly Hills High School student Vahagn Setian, a passenger in his car. Two 15-year-old girls were also injured in the crash.
Garrison was allegedly at a party given and attended by high schoolers and was going out to buy more alcohol when his 2001 Land Rover jumped a curb at about 50 mph and hit a tree, according to authorities. He initially stated that he was just giving the minors a ride home from the high school party he was attending, but other people at the party claim he left because they ran out of alcohol. Police said Garrison had a blood-alcohol level of .20 percent, as well as cocaine in his system, although his charges only indicate that his blood-alcohol level was above .15 percent.
He was charged with felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, felony driving under the influence causing injury to multiple victims, felony driving with a blood-alcohol level above the .08 percent legal limit causing injury, and a misdemeanor count of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Defense attorneys also looked into whether a possible brake defect may have contributed to the accident.
Garrison pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving, and providing alcohol to a minor, and faced up to six years, eight months in prison. He underwent a mandatory 90-day "diagnostic" evaluation by parole officers and psychologists in a prison before returning for an appearance before a Superior Court Judge for sentencing. During the initial psychological evaluation, Garrison made many remarks about not being at fault, but since then, Garrison has made several statements allegedly accepting responsibility for the accident.
He was sentenced to 40 months in jail on October 31, 2007, but was given credit for 91 days already served. He was placed into protective custody for his own safety.
On April 29, 2009, Lane Garrison was released from prison. With four years of parole, he was also ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution to the victims and their families. Reportedly, he was picked up from prison by family members and driven to the home of Jessica Simpson in Encino, California.
