Justin Mentell of ‘Boston Legal’ Dies in Car Crash

Actor Justin Mentell, who appeared in the 2005-2006 season of Boston Legal on ABC as Garrett Wells, was killed in a car crash on Monday at the age of 27.

Initial reports indicate that Mentell may have fallen asleep at the wheel of his Jeep, just seconds before the vehicle tumbled down an embankment and crashed into two trees near Madison, Wisconsin. The actor was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown from the car, even though the airbag did deploy. he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A sheriff said that drugs and alcohol weren't a factor in the wreck.

"His mother believes that he may have fallen asleep at the wheel just prior to the accident," said Iowa County Sheriff's Dept. Sgt. Daniel Carey.

"We don’t believe that alcohol was a factor in the incident. There was no evidence of that here," he added. "It is possible that Mr. Mentell fell asleep at the wheel, as his mother told us that he liked to take long drives on his own and the area he crashed was pretty secluded. There was some snow lying on the surrounding areas, [but] the road conditions were clear and dry, so, they would not have been a contributing factor either.

"The coroner will be doing the usual blood tests to see if there were any drugs in his system," Carey said, "but at this point we are just treating it as a tragic accident."

In addition to being an actor, Mentell was a speed skater and an aspiring musician. His most recent movie role was in the Disney film "G-Force".

James Zahn, one of Mentell's close friend, was in a state of shock.

"He was just at my house about four days ago. He had moved back to Waukegan and was focusing on his art and his music," said Zahn.