Just days before Christmas back in 2021, Nothing More vocalist Jonny Hawkins ran over his then girlfriend with his truck in a domestic violence incident that resulted in severe injuries and legal repercussions following the singer’s eventual arrest. And as details of the incident have begun circulating online, Nothing More announced that they have pulled out of their tour dates with Godsmack and Staind.
The announcement came in a social media post late this afternoon, as the band issued a statement in support of Hawkins and his continued involvement with Nothing More.
“One terrible night does not define a person’s entire life. Jonny has taken responsibility for his actions in his personal life, and he has been held accountable in the eyes of the law.
“We know Jonny better than anyone, and he is not a violent person. We’ve never witnessed or seen evidence of violence from him in any of his relationships. However, we all have witnessed physical abuse towards Jonny over the course of his most recent relationship.
“We have been by his side for the past year and a half, and we support the efforts that he has taken to make things right.
-Mark, Daniel and Ben
“Out of respect for Godsmack and Staind we have decided to remove ourselves from the tour that starts next week as well as our shows in Albany and Cleveland while we deal with matters that are very personal and private to the band. We look forward to seeing you on the road in September.”
According to a police report and court documents provided to MetalSucks, the incident in question took place on December 23, 2021 in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Investigators obtained surveillance footage which showed Hawkins’ truck abruptly stop in the road before a woman is forced out of the passenger side. Shortly afterward, the truck goes forward and runs the woman over with the back passenger tire, resulting in the truck visibly raising as it goes over her body. The truck fled the scene and the woman was left in the street until authorities arrived.
The woman suffered severe injuries, including “road rash on her elbows, back, right thigh and lower leg” and “a collapsed lung and broken spinal bones in addition to the severe road rash,” according to police.
Hawkins was eventually taken into custody on March 9, 2022 after he turned himself in. He was arrested with attempted aggravated battery with a motor vehicle, but those charges became hit and run driving causing death or serious injury when he got to court on September 22, 2022. After entering a not guilty plea in absentia, the court later reduced the charge to vehicular negligent injuring, turning his charges from a class 3 felony to a class 4 misdemeanor. After getting the lesser charge, Hawkins changed his plea to guilty.
As a result, Hawkins served three days in jail before being sentenced to active probation for a year. He was also required to complete 40 hours of community service and pay all court fees and fines associated with the case.
Throughout the process, the woman allegedly did not want to press charges or seek punitive action against Hawkins. During an April 7, 2022 court date, the woman testified that it was an accident and she didn’t need a restraining order against the singer, saying “their relationship was stronger than the incident.”
That ultimately proved not to be the case and they separated. According to Hawkins, it was only after the separation was final and all of his things were removed from their house, that she posted the graphic images and detailed what happened from her perspective on Instagram in an effort to hurt him. Everything she posted eventually made its way to Reddit, which is where most of the backlash began to foment.
We do not know all of the details, nor are we trying to pass judgment on anyone here. It just sounds like two people who weren’t right for each other and shit got out of hand. We’ve posted Jonny Hawkins’ full statement below.
As for the Godsmack and Staind tour, we will post an update when we find out who will take Nothing More’s place.
These are pictures of me with a woman with whom I’ve had a loving, but also highly volatile, relationship for over six years. The first picture is from March of this year. The second picture is from an event in January. We have spent time together off and on over the last few years, including as recently as this past 4th of July weekend.
I loved her very much, but sometimes love is not enough to keep two people together. Our relationship was not perfect. I was not perfect, and neither was she. My friends and family described the relationship as toxic, and, last week, I decided that it needed to end.
The only reason that I am sharing any of this private information with you is because my ex has decided to vilify me publicly by presenting photos of a terrible accident that happened more than a year and a half ago without telling you the whole story. This is a hard truth to share, but I’ve taken responsibility for my part.
One night in December 2021, after a series of bad choices by both of us, fueled in part by alcohol, she began to hit me with a full can of beer in the face and eyes while I was driving. Unfortunately, this was not the first time I had to protect myself from her assaults. As she escalated the situation, I stopped the truck and forced her to get out. While driving away, I unknowingly ran over her with the back wheel. I had no reason to think she was under my truck, and I left without realizing that she had been injured.
While her injuries from the accident were significant, they were made exponentially worse by an infection caused by the IV at the hospital. For example, the gruesome images of her arm that she published where you can see what looks like bone was the result of an emergency surgery to get rid of her staph infection.
I know all of this, because as soon as I learned she was injured, I went to the hospital that night. I was right there beside her for several weeks while she recovered in the hospital and then after she was discharged, I helped her recuperate at home.
Despite the fact that she told law enforcement, friends and family that she didn’t want to press charges, and that this was all an accident, I turned myself into the authorities in March 2022 as required by a state law.
I pled guilty to a misdemeanor for negligent vehicular injury and, after serving three days in jail for that misdemeanor, I was sentenced to probation. Since then, I have continued to perform the community service required by the court.
State law also required a restraining order to be put in place. But, as you can see in the court document posted above, she made it clear that she believed this matter was an accident, that our relationship was “stronger since the incident,” and asked for it to be removed (which it was).
For the past year and a half, we have made several attempts to restore our relationship and rediscover the good things that brought us together years ago. We’ve had some successes but also many failures, and it was clear to me that we just cannot be together. Within hours of me taking the final items I had at the home we shared, she posted photos of her time in the hospital in a deliberately misleading way.
I take full responsibility for my actions that night in 2021 and, since then, I have fully complied with the authorities. I don’t believe that night is indicative of who I am or the man I have tried to be since. But, given that a skewed and weaponized version of events is now being put out to the world, I felt it was important to share these additional facts.