It’s always nice to see celebrities using their fame for a good purpose, especially when it’s just to help the little guy and not as another excuse to walk a red carpet.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s main man has offered up a $10,000 reward for anyone with information about a hit-and-run accident that left the cousin of his comanager, Bill Stankey, on life support.

Per a statement released by Pennington’s rep, 33-year-old Daniel Seeck, a Los Angeles-based attorney, was struck by a vehicle Jan. 17 while riding his bike in Santa Monica. He is now on life support at UCLA Medical Center.

A red SUV was seen in the area immediately following the crash, according to the statement. Tipsters are being asked to contact Santa Monica Police Investigator Chris Dawson at 310-458-8427 or WE TIP at 1-800-782-7463.

If you know anything about this accident, please call!

And, look, for what it’s worth, if you ever accidentally hit someone with your motor vehicle, I know the first instinct may be to panic and get out of there, but you’re always better staying. My old roommate had a good friend who had accidentally hit a police car while driving. The policeman died, and her friend fled the scene. They tracked him down the next day, and, at the age of 18, put him in jail for the rest of his life. Mostly, he was in trouble for fleeing the scene after accidentally killing a cop. Everyone said the punishment would have been less severe if he’d stayed and tried to help, but he panicked and ran. The whole thing was so devastating. He used to send her pages and pages of letters from prison. It broke my heart. Don’t let this happen to you!!!

Ty Pennington was in New York Monday night to help launch his new magazine: Ty Pennington Is Gay At Home. Yes, Ty, “at home” is a good place for you these days. A much better place than, say, behind the wheel.

To add to the randomness that is the most recent month of Ty Pennington’s career, the second-most famous person present, after Ty, was Aida Turturro of The Sopranos. Figure that one out, kids.

I love this guy. In the wake of his DUI, Ty Pennington has managed not to blame an ex-wife or enter a rehab program intended more for his image than his mental health. Instead, he’s fessing up, taking responsibility, and moving on, and I love that.

I made a really bad error in judgment. It made me realize how important every decision you make in your life is because it affects everyone, not just yourself. I realized if you make a mistake, I think you ought to step up and admit that you did. I’m just that kind of a person. If you do something that you know you shouldn’t have, stand up and accept it.

It could jeopardize everything, including my job, which to me, is the greatest job in the world. I would never want to jeopardize that. I get to do something that a lot of people never get to do in their lifetime and actually get to make a difference in people’s lives.

When asked what he would have done differently, Ty says, “Probably take a cab. But if we could hit rewind in our life, I think we would do a bunch of things differently. But you can’t do that. All you can do is accept what’s happened and learn from it.”

Awww. You’re okay in my book, Ty.

[source]

Extreme Makeover host Ty Pennington was formally charged today with two misdemeanor DUI charges stemming from his arrest Saturday morning. Pennington had a blood alcohol level of 0.14, which is nearly twice CA’s legal limit of 0.08.

Um, it appears Ty’s going to need the services of the design team over at Extreme Makeover: Public Image Edition. Leslie Sloane-Zelnick hosts.

God, it must have sucked to wake up as Ty Pennington today. Like, it’s one thing if you’re Paris Hilton and you score a DUI — everyone has their fun with it, but you’re famous for being a party girl anyway, so what the hell, at least it keeps you in the papers. But when you’re Ty Fucking Pennington, America’s Golden Boy and host of what is arguably the most family-friendly, red-state-courting, Jesus-loving show in evening network television, this fucking sucks. It’s like Barney got caught shooting up.

Anyway, Ty-Ty shook off the hangover for long enough to get this statement out well in time for the east-coast evening news:

I made an error in judgment. We all make mistakes, however this is about accountability. Under no circumstances should anyone consume alcohol while driving. I could have jeopardized the lives of others and I am grateful there was no accident or harm done to anyone. This was my wake-up call. I also want to apologize to my fans, ABC Television and my design team for my lapse in judgment and the embarrassment I have caused.

Hey, Ty, just a little tip: if they suspend your license and put you on probation, don’t drive anymore. Just trust me on this one.

Via TMZ:

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” star Ty Pennington was arrested early Saturday morning in Los Angeles on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs while driving.

The hottie carpenter, who got his start on the TLC hit “Trading Spaces,” was arrested at 12:35 AM. He was released two hours later after posting $5000 bail.

Heh heh heh. We’ll have details and snark as the story develops.