Raheem Sterling admits dangerous driving after May M3 crash

Former England winger Raheem Sterling, 31, from Berkshire, admitted dangerous driving at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after crashing a Lamborghini into motorway barriers on the M3 in Hampshire on the morning of 28 May.

Sterling also pleaded guilty to possessing nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation and to failing to provide a specimen for analysis, the court heard. Hampshire Police said the charges followed a single-vehicle collision on the M3 southbound near the Minley interchange, with no other vehicles involved and no injuries reported.

Prosecutors told the court Sterling had driven a Lamborghini Urus dangerously on the M25, the M3, the A327 and Minley Road before the crash. He was found in possession of six canisters of nitrous oxide, which are classified as a Class C drug, the case documents state.

The 31-year-old was arrested after the collision on 28 May and later appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court. The formal admissions were made in that hearing, where the charges were recorded by the court.

Sterling earned 82 England caps, the last of which was at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He most recently played for Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie after leaving Chelsea in January, making eight appearances in the Netherlands.

During four years at Chelsea, including a season-long loan at Arsenal, Sterling made 59 league appearances after signing from Manchester City in 2022. Prior to his move to Manchester in 2015 he began his senior career with Liverpool, and he won four Premier League titles while at Manchester City.

Sterling is currently without a club and was appointed an MBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to racial equality in sport.

He arrived at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Tuesday afternoon, where the guilty pleas were entered and recorded.