Jane McGarry, who plead no contest to a class B misdemeanor DWI that occurred on May 6th, will not be employed by NBC 5 as of today, according to the Dallas Morning News. I wrote about her arrest here.
Jane was sentenced to 18 months probation, a $1,200 fine and 40 hours of community service. Her blood alcohol content was .11 (the legal limit is .08). I think the BAC limit should be lowered to curtail the number of crashes caused by drunk drivers. Over 1,000 Texans were killed in these wrecks just in 2010.
We have all enjoyed watching Jane for the past 30 years, especially here in Fort Worth where she lives, and it is sad to see her leave under these circumstances. Jane first began her career when she was only five years old by making a commercial for her father’s radio station in their small town in Illinois, and by the time she graduated from college she had already interviewed Walter Cronkite and Barbara Walters. Jane won many awards during her long tenure at Channel 5 and kept it classy for Dallas/Fort Worth, to paraphrase from Anchorman.
And unlike so many celebrities who break laws with impunity, Jane readily admitted that her DWI was wrong: “I am deeply sorry for making such a terrible mistake and pledge it will never happen again,” she said. “I hope people get the word that is wrong to drink and drive.” Thank you Jane. We all wish you the best in whatever your future holds for you.
And we need to do more — far more — to stop drunk driving. Just today, I was hired by several young men who were hurt when they were crashed into by a drunk driver. And I appreciated that they were referred by one of the men’s sister whom I am currently representing in her collision case. Unless the drunk’s insurance company tenders his full insurance policy limits to my clients, I will file suit immediately and go after him with a vengeance. This is what I do — do everything in my power to get my clients the money they deserve.
And note that other “hotter” females and male tv anchors and reporters have also been convicted of DWIs and have returned to the air, including Jay Gray, whose BAC was a much higher .18, and who is now a reporter for NBC News, Michelle Valles, only 32, who was allowed to return to her anchor spot only a few days afer her DWI arrest in Austin in 2007, and a two men at a Houston station, according to the Dallas Morning News. Age discrimination? You decide. Jane is 56, much older than her replacement, Meredith Land.