Raheem Sterling admits dangerous driving after M3 Lamborghini crash
Raheem Sterling has admitted dangerous driving after crashing his Lamborghini into motorway barriers in May. The 31-year-old entered his pleas at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court, as reported by BBC.
He pleaded guilty to driving a Lamborghini Urus dangerously across a long route through the south east. The roads named in court were the M25, the M3, the A327 and Minley Road. The drive ended when he hit the barriers.
Police arrested him on the morning of 28 May after the crash on the M3 in Hampshire. Hampshire Police said it was a single-vehicle collision on the southbound carriageway near the Minley interchange. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.
Sterling admitted two further charges alongside the driving offence. He admitted possessing nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation. He also admitted failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
The court heard he had six canisters of nitrous oxide with him at the time. Nitrous oxide is sometimes called laughing gas, and it is against the law to possess it for misuse by inhaling it. Failing to provide a specimen means refusing or failing to give a breath, blood or urine sample for testing when police require it.
Sterling is 31 and from Berkshire. He is a long-standing England international with 82 caps, which means 82 appearances for the national team, with his last cap coming at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The case first became public when he was charged in August after the motorway crash, as reported by ESPN. The Lamborghini involved was previously reported to be worth £270,000 by The Sun. That same report noted that dangerous driving can carry a prison sentence of up to two years on conviction.
For fans who have watched Sterling for more than a decade, the court appearance is a stark change of context. He made his name with pace and direct running on the wing. He became a regular for club and country and part of England squads at major tournaments. This case will now be decided by the courts, not on the pitch.
