Beloved Bay Area news anchor Frank Somerville was arrested Thursday night in Oakland for suspicion of DUI after rear ending a car. Video from the scene appears to show allegedly and inebriated Somerville exiting his vehicle assisted by two men. The accident was caught on video by a bystander who observed Somerville allegedly trying to drive away after the accident.
The video shows suspected to be Somerville in the Porsche rear-ending another car and proceeding to push into the drivers car, which crashed into a pole on the corner of the intersection.
Police say that Somerville was transported to a hospital for treatment and later booked into Santa Rita Jail on DUI charges.
Somerville is a beloved Bay Area news anchor who became constantly attempted to shine light on the depths of racism systemically and socially, racial biases, and advocated for BLM. He was recently removed from KTVU News indefinitely after he allegedly voiced his opinion on broadcasting the Gabby Petito case after he wanted to point out the disparity in media attention over missing white women vs those of color. We have not seen Somerville on air since.
Somerville's life has been a downward spiral since then. Allegedly, he unjustly lost his job for pointing attempting to do the right thing and is also allegedly going through a divorce. While we do not condone driving under the influence at all, I do hope Somerville gets help to heal.