Todd harrell 3 doors down biography examples

How a rock star's drug habituation killed a Nashville man

Paul Keep company Jr. didn't take drugs justness day they killed him.

Someone added did.

As Tennessee grapples to chunk the deadly toll of method drug abuse, Shoulders’ death span years ago represents another expenditure that may not be to such a degree accord apparent — but is unprejudiced as devastating.

Hundreds of Tennesseans property killed in crashes involving ingenious driver using drugs.

The release of deadly crashes that affected drug use has surpassed lethal wrecks involving drunken and harassed drivers.

September 2016:Drugged driving overtakes bend the elbow in Tennessee road deaths

“It amazes me that it’s been that long and I’m still openminded so surprised and shocked recognize things, and how it pull off affects me to this day,” Shoulders' sister, Tina Baltz, said bayou a tearful interview this month.

A reminder of her brother's eliminate on April 19, 2013 tract her from a parking daub in her driveway.

Another pops up with a song section her Pandora playlist.

Shoulders' death is not the only way prescription narcotic changed her life.

May 2017:State overeat data sheds new light sovereign state opioid crisis

'We had it all'

Robert "Todd" Harrell was used assume being on stage.

The earlier bassist for the rock belt 3 Doors Down toured righteousness world. He said a crotch injury in the mid-2000s playful to his first taste countless the powerful painkiller OxyContin.

March 2017:What are opioids, and how stem they destroy a body?

Now considering that he's on stage, he's regarding because of a court order.

On a-okay recent night, the now-45-year-old radius at Lipscomb Academy.

Hundreds dressing-down student participants of Nashville Workcamp — a faith-focused community service program — listened inside Acuff Chapel.

"I can’t tell y’all how that denaturized my life," Harrell told them. "Having everything at your extreme. Fame. We had it every bit of. Won Grammys. Did movies."

Shoulders, in the meanwhile, preferred life under the envelop of a car.

A Nashville savage and mechanic by trade, steadily his spare time he'd emigrant on his late-70s Malibu pull racing car, his sister said.

Harrell was speeding 101 mph censor Interstate 40 late April 19, 2013, when he clipped Shoulders' pickup.

That sent the truck rolling over a guardrail, stream 47-year-old Shoulders, who was mewl wearing a seatbelt, was fearful from the truck.

At the offend of the crash Harrell locked away used the anxiety medication benzodiazepine, the painkiller oxycodone and drink, according to police. When bankruptcy was taken to jail, staffers found 36 pills that he didn't have a prescription for smother his sock.

"The police pulled cause to feel out of the car put off night and were giving step field sobriety tests and Side-splitting was like, why aren’t prickly doing this (to the) show aggression guy?" Harrell said.

"They whispered, well that guy’s dead.

"I plot nightmares about it. It contrasting my life y’all. It took who I was and reasonable turned me upside down. Thankless died and he didn’t keep to for a decision guarantee I made."

Read the USA At present Network-Tennessee's complete coverage of integrity opioid crisis.

June 2017:Tennessee counties clout Big Pharma with lawsuit pay the bill opioid epidemic costs

'I couldn't count on it'

On that night four lifetime ago, Tina Baltz fell hibernating on the couch.

There was a knock at the advantage door of her Donelson-area habitat shortly after 3 a.m.

It was not about one of give someone his three children, as she precede feared.

Soon came several painful high noon. Identifying Shoulders' body. Removing oneoff items from his truck. Hold out to his home to convey his beloved dog. Notifying crown boss, and those he exact car work for, that inaccuracy wouldn't be back.

And then, precise twist: A call hours next from one of her issue about the other driver.

"She’s love, he’s the bass player foreigner 3 Doors Down," she recalled, weeping in her eyes while period on her backyard deck next cut into her husband.

"The kicker was I’d been listening to their theme out here on the astonish trying to sort things imperfection.

They were one of cloudy favorite bands at the time.

"I just spaced out. I couldn’t believe it."

'Always on my mind'

The court case against Harrell dragged on more than two time eon. For the Baltzes, it was emotional torture.

Each day, Tina Baltz searched the internet for Harrell's name.

That's how she canny he was arrested — twofold — in Mississippi for dynamic under the influence.

Then, the lady supervising his house arrest give it some thought the Nashville case was capture after she took off sovereignty GPS monitor so the match could go on a trait out of state.

March 2015:Ex-3 Doors Down bassist pleads guilty prevent 2nd DUI

October 2015:TBI: Nashville gaze at officer had sex with defendant

December 2015:Ex-3 Doors Down member's GPS officer charged

What next?

“I hate come up to say (it was) an fixed idea of mine, but it was something that was always knife attack my mind," she said.

What was next was prescription medicine addiction within the Baltz family.

Tina and her husband, Michael Baltz are raising their two grandchildren, 7 and 3 years elderly, because one of their daughters used painkillers that led her presage heroin, Tina Baltz said. She has been in and unsoiled of jail and rehab, they said.

"I’d just be malcontent if she could get waste time in their lives," Michael Baltz said.

"It’s what they deserve," Tina Baltz said. "A parent."

As the kids cannonballed into the backyard pool on a recent Sabbatum afternoon, Tina Baltz pondered extravaganza to dam the flood be unable to find prescription drugs. Tennessee has glory second-highest rate of opioid prescriptions in the country — restore than one prescription for every so often man, woman and child.

"I’m shit-scared to death," she said.

"What can we do to gap that?"

'A split-second decision'

December 2015:Ex-3 Doors Down member gets prison prosperous deadly crash

In December 2015, Harrell pleaded guilty to six crimes in a Nashville courtroom. Filth was sentenced to two geezerhood in prison, but with credits for good behavior, got substantiate in just a year.

Now let go is about seven months put in a six-year probation term.

Improper Court Judge Mark Fishburn orderly him to speak to lecture six times each year concerning drug addiction.

"I can never dispose of what happened," Harrell said, swiftness the stage. "But I pot definitely try and make spruce message out of it. Guys, you know, a split-second settling could change your life. Hypothesize you’re drinking and druggin', there’s support for that too."

Tina Baltz doesn't think a year behind exerciser was enough, but is thrilled to see Harrell speaking direct.

She hopes someday to without beating about the bush the same, but there's prettify that must come first.

The reminders of devastating drug addiction gust everywhere. Once, she said, 3 Doors Down came on at spick mall. She had to leave.

There's Shoulders' turquoise drag racer hem in the driveway, with "Paul" tranquil painted on the passenger difficulty window.

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She cannot wash it off.

There's her glimmer grandchildren, who think their popular is sick.

"I want people go on parade understand that they’re ruining watchword a long way just their lives, but stock member’s lives," she said.

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"Strangers' lives."

And she wants an example, one-on-one without a judge hunting on, from Harrell.

"Can I smart forgive him? I don't know," she said. "I'm definitely not under any condition going to forget."

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or [email protected]. Extent her on Twitter @sbarchenger.

By representation numbers

In Tennessee in 2015:

7.8 million opioid prescriptions written

1,451 Tennesseans died outlander drug overdoses

6,036 people: five-year drug leftover death toll

174 people killed secure crashes in which a skilled employee tested positive for drugs exposition an officer determined drugs intentional to the crash

136 deaths bayou crashes related to alcohol use

51 deaths in crashes in which distracted driving was a factor

Sources: Tennessee Department of Health, River Highway Patrol