Scary Details About Grayson Chrisley's Car Accident Emerge
Grayson Chrisley gave his parents the worst kind of distraction as they awaited sentencing in their tax fraud case. Days before Todd and Julie Chrisley were set to head back to court, Grayson was involved in a serious car accident, per TMZ.
Grayson's first experience behind the wheel of his own vehicle was filmed for a 2021 episode of "Chrisley Knows Best," and in true Todd fashion, the reality TV patriarch found a way to make it somewhat humiliating for his son. Todd was going to let Grayson drive home from baseball practice and he made sure to pimp his ride for the occasion: Todd attached a huge "slow" placard to the grill of Grayson's new truck and placed a "student driver" sign in the bed of the vehicle — alterations that didn't exactly impress Grayson's teammates. Todd even gave Grayson a small cage to place his cellphone inside so he wouldn't be tempted to look at it while driving. But his parents knew Grayson wouldn't be reckless. On their podcast "Chrisley Confessions," Todd said, "Grayson is the sweetest child and has the most tender heart."
The father of five, however, had reason to worry. In 2017, Todd's youngest daughter, Savannah Chrisley, wrecked her car and ended up in a neck brace. Todd received a call about the accident in the middle of the night. "I literally fell to my knees. The fear was so crippling at that point," he recalled to People. Thankfully, Savannah recovered, and Grayson's own injuries were minor enough that his pops chose to play another prank on him while he was in the hospital.
Todd Chrisley convinced a nurse to lie to Grayson Chrisley
According to TMZ, Grayson Chrisley's car accident occurred in Nashville on November 19. He totalled his truck after slamming into another vehicle that was stopped in traffic on the interstate. Because Grayson had no recollection of how the accident occurred, TMZ suggested that he possibly injured his head. However, after Grayson was taken to the hospital, Todd Chrisley had a little fun at his son's expense.
On their "Chrisley Confessions" podcast, Todd and Julie Chrisley took a break from discussing their legal woes and spoke about Grayson's accident. Todd revealed that he showed up at the scene of the accident just as Grayson was being loaded into the ambulance. "I remember looking at Grayson on that stretcher ... and all I could think of was, 'Thank you, God,' because he's alive and crying," Todd recalled.
At the hospital, Todd actually requested for Grayson's blood to be tested for the presence of drugs or alcohol because he feared that the press would speculate about his son being intoxicated at the time of the accident. After learning that the results came back negative, Todd pulled a nurse aside and convinced her to lie to Grayson and tell him that his blood tested positive for alcohol. "He jumped up and says, 'What?! How?'" Todd recalled. But as soon as Grayson noticed Savannah Chrisley filming him, he knew that his dad was up to his usual antics.
Grayson was struggling with the negative press
It's one thing after the other for the Chrisley family. In addition to news about Grayson Chrisley's car accident, Todd and Julie Chrisley are facing a sentencing for tax evasion. As AP notes, they were convicted in June of defrauding the IRS as well as bank and tax fraud. Prosecutors in the case claim that the Chrisley's committed over $30 million in loan fraud. "The jury found that Todd and Julie Chrisley committed multiple fraud schemes for several years and their accountant, Peter Tarantino, filed false corporate tax returns on their behalf," Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said (via Fox 5 Atlanta). The prosecutors are calling for a 22-year sentence for Todd and 13 years for Julie.
The Chrisleys have asked for a lighter sentence. As the New York Post notes, Todd asked for nine years and asked that Julie get probation without time in prison. Outside of the courthouse, Todd said, "We are fortunate [to] have the counsel that we have, and our family will stick together and walk this road because we know the good Lord will hold our hand and get us through" (via Fox 5).
In July, on their podcast "Chrisley Confessions," Todd and Julie said that son Grayson was struggling with all the negative press around his family. Todd told his son, "You understand that you're allowing someone that you're never going to meet and their comment to affect your day, your mood, your self-worth, [and] who your family is."