Pete Davidson, the comedian, actor and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, has reached a settlement that will allow him to solve a reckless driving charge in California by doing community service with the New York City Fire Department, officials said Monday.
Mr. Davidson is from Staten Island, whose father, Scott, was a New York City firefighter who died responding to the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks – an experience that shaped Mr. Davidson’s 2020 film The King of Staten Island.
The charge of reckless driving, a misdemeanor, was filed against Mr. Davidson by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office last month. It was said he drove a Mercedes-Benz into a house near Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills in March, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to The Times, no one was injured.
A judge ordered Mr Davidson on July 19 to an 18-month diversionary program, according to a prosecutor’s statement Monday. He must pay compensation, attend 12 hours of traffic school, visit a morgue to learn what happens to reckless driving victims, and do 50 hours of community service.
Mr Davidson’s attorney has indicated that community service “will likely be completed with the New York City Fire Department,” the statement said. Details of the diversion program were previously reported by TMZ.
An attorney for Mr Davidson did not respond to a request for comment.
Amanda Farinacci, a fire department spokeswoman, called Mr. Davidson “the son of a 9/11 hero” and said without giving details that the department “would like to give him a chance” to complete his service. (Mr. Davidson may also serve the other diversionary program terms in New York, prosecutors said.)
Mr. Davidson was a stand-up comedian before joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in the fall of 2014. He left the NBC show after last year’s season finale. His latest project is the streaming series “Bupkis”.
Doing his community service in New York could allow Mr. Davidson to focus on another project tied to his Staten Island roots: a decommissioned ferry that he and Colin Jost, another Saturday Night Live cast member — and fellow Staten Islander — bought last year along with other investors for $280,000.
A vision for the aging ship was to convert it into what one of the investors called an “arts and entertainment venue.” But Mr Davidson appeared uncertain about the future of the ferry in an interview with Entertainment Tonight last month.
“I have no idea what’s going on with that thing,” he said. “Me and Colin got very stoned a year ago and bought a ferry. And we are about to find out.”