Bay Area anchor Frank Somerville gives first TV interview since DUI

In a KRON interview with Pam Moore that aired last night, Somerville spent nearly half an hour talking about his career and substance abuse. He had previously posted about the incident on his media on Social and San Francisco. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst, but have separate newsrooms.)

Somerville said the example of slurred language on air was caused by accidentally taking the sleeping pill Ambien instead of another prescription drug. but said he continued to use alcohol.

Somerville said he drank nearly every night, citing the grief and loneliness of the divorce.

“Everything came to a head when I got drunk,” Somerville said. “It was Christmas time. I was away from my family. No, I was abandoned in my apartment.”

Somerville said she wanted to go to Taco Bell, which is two blocks from her apartment. He said he had no driving job and was responsible for his actions, but said he had “no memory of the accident at all.” However, he remembers arguing with a police officer about how tight the handcuffs were, and later called to apologize.

When Moore asked if he was an alcoholic, Somerville said, “I don’t think I want to drink,” and although he has attended DUI classes, he has had alcohol at Sharks games in recent months.

The interview ended with Moore asking why Somerville spoke up now.

“I want people to see me, that I put in a lot of really hard work, that I take this really seriously, and that in my opinion, I come out on the other side as something better. “I want people to know that I’ve been a person and I’m going to keep getting better,” Somerville said. , that they can understand that I’m just like them yeah I made a lot of money yeah I did a big job but still I’m I was scared, so what I say to people is, “Please don’t make the same mistakes I made.