Underage drinking? It happens.
Getting a DUI? Not horribly uncommon with college students.
Driving away from the scene of a wreck because you think you killed the passenger?
Uh...
URBANA, Ill. -- Illinois basketball player Jamar Smith pleaded not guilty Friday to drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
The a 19-year-old sophomore faces a maximum of 12 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted of the felony charges. His pretrial hearing is April 5.
Smith was driving in snowy conditions Feb. 12 when the car struck a tree. Authorities say Smith and his passenger, teammate Brian Carlwell, had been drinking tequila and beer before the crash. Smith, too young to drink legally, had a blood-alcohol level after the crash that was more than twice the legal limit, prosecutors say.
Smith says he believed Carlwell was dead. Authorities contend Smith left the scene and drove the damaged car back to his apartment. Bystanders saw the car with an unconscious Carlwell inside and called police. The 19-year-old Carlwell was hospitalized for several days with a severe concussion.
Smith, a guard, has agreed to sit out the rest of the season.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
This could help us. I don't really know(or care) about the Illinois basketball team, but I do know they're a bubble team, and therefore the worse off they are the better off we are.