Court records say Bush violated bond conditions that were set after arrested in October on charges of driving while intoxicated.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Former Texas Rangers pitcher Matt Bush was arrested this week after a warrant was issued over bond violations related to his drunk-driving arrest in October, according to court documents.
Bush, 38, was booked into the Tarrant County Jail on Monday, according to online jail records. He remained in custody on Wednesday.
Bush’s last season as a player was in 2023 with the Rangers.
Court records say Bush violated bond conditions that were set after he was arrested in October on charges of driving while intoxicated, evading arrest and accident involving injury.
Bush operated a vehicle and failed a SCRAM device, according to court records. A SCRAM device is a bracelet alcohol monitor that can be included as a bond condition for someone who faces alcohol-related charges.
More information about his alleged bond violations was not yet available.
Bush was arrested Oct. 4 in Arlington, where a police officer spotted him driving erratically along Pioneer Parkway, according to a police news release. Instead of pulling over, police said, Bush sped off and the officer lost sight of him.
A few minutes later, at about 8:30 p.m., officers responded to a crash involving multiple cars at the intersection of East Pioneer Parkway and South Collins Street. One of the vehicles involved was the same vehicle that Bush was driving, police said.
Police said Bush ran a red light and crashed into three other cars. Witnesses told officers Bush tried to run from the scene on foot, but bystanders chased him down and detained him, according to police.
Police said Bush and the driver of one of the vehicles were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. All of the other drivers involved were uninjured.
According to police, Bush refused a roadside sobriety test, so officers obtained a warrant for a blood sample, which was sent to a lab for further analysis.
Bush has faced alcohol-related charges before and was sentenced to 52 months in prison in 2012 after being charged with crashing into a 72-year-old motorcyclist, and then leaving the scene. The motorcyclist survived but was left with brain hemorrhaging, a collapsed lung and eight broken vertebrae.
Bush was a star prospect coming out of high school in San Diego and was selected No. 1 overall in 2004 by his hometown Padres. But his arrest derailed his career and he didn’t make the majors until 2016, with the Rangers.
He then pitched six off-and-on seasons as a reliever, all with the Rangers except for a stint with the Brewers in 2022 and the beginning of 2023. Bush was brought back to Texas during the Rangers’ 2023 World Series season but didn’t pitch in the playoffs.
