Crime15 September, 20262 min read
Raheem Sterling Pleads Guilty to Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Urus Crash in Hampshire
“dangerous driving after witnesses reported that he had been seen inhaling 'laughing gas' from a balloon”
“The court heard he strayed into the central reservation of the M3”
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Sterling pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after Lamborghini Urus crash on the M3. He admitted possessing nitrous oxide canisters and failing to provide a sample.
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Guilty Pleas in Hampshire
Former England winger Raheem Sterling pleaded guilty at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court to dangerous driving after a motorway crash involving his Lamborghini Urus in Hampshire on May 28. Reuters said witnesses reported Sterling had been seen inhaling “laughing gas” from a balloon while behind the wheel before the crash, and police later found him sitting in the passenger seat holding two canisters of nitrous oxide.
The London Evening Standard reported police body worn footage of Sterling’s arrest at 9.15am showed him in the car with two canisters on his lap as an officer told him: “You can put that down.” Sterling also admitted possession of six nitrous oxide cannisters for wrongful inhalation and failing to provide a blood specimen, with police saying no other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.
Witnesses Describe Balloon
The court heard that a driver called police “shocked” by what she saw, and another said she had “genuine concerns the driver might kill someone” by the way Sterling was driving. The Independent reported that Sterling was seen inhaling from a balloon while driving his Lamborghini on the motorway in rush hour before crashing his car into a metal gate, and it said police body worn footage showed him with two canisters on his lap.
London Evening Standard quoted prosecutor Simon Jones describing a witness on the M25 who called 999 at 7.49am after driving in parallel and said “he sighted the defendant inhaling from the balloon”. The court also heard that Sterling had come off junction 4a at the M3 before doing a loop on the A327 and, just after a roundabout, came off the road, with the vehicle veering off the carriageway and “must have collided with either the sign or metal gate” causing “substantial” damage.
Next Hearing and Ban
Judge Kirsty Allman ordered a pre-sentence report and set a next hearing on November 25, with Reuters saying the case would be adjourned for that report. Reuters reported that Sterling was disqualified from driving and released on unconditional bail, while it also said prosecutor Simon Jones described the incident as falling into the most serious category of dangerous driving that attracted a jail term of one to two years.
The London Evening Standard said District Judge Kirsty Allman ordered for a pre-sentence report before the November 25 hearing where she would determine whether to sentence at the magistrates’ court or send it to crown court. Sterling, who was described as without a club after leaving Chelsea by mutual consent and joining Feyenoord on a short-term deal in February, left the courtroom on unconditional bail and was handed an interim disqualification from driving from Tuesday.