Talk about wasted talent. Academy Award winning screenwriter Roger Avary will be out of commission for one year while serving a prison sentence. As reported by The Associated Press, a Ventura County Superior Court Judge sentenced him to one year in jail and five years of probation for his actions.

According to authorities, back in January of 2008, Avary was driving drunk in Southern California at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. He eventually hit a telephone pole, killing one of his passengers, a friend visiting from Italy, and seriously injuring his wife. Avary initially plead not guilty to the charges, but in hopes of moving past this issue, changed his plea on August 18th.

Avary co-wrote Pulp Fiction with Quentin Tarantino for which they won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Avary is also responsible for penning The Rules of Attraction, Silent Hill and Beowulf. It was recently announced that Avary would be returning along with producer Samuel Hadida to make a second Silent Hill film. There’s no word on whether or not Avary’s current situation will affect the production, but who knows, maybe a cell will be conducive to Avary’s writing skills.