Illinois basketball player charged with felonies in recent crash

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois basketball player Jamar Smith – charged Tuesday with drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident – apparently believed a teammate in the car had died, authorities said.\nSmith, 19, was driving a 1996 Lexus shortly after 11 p.m. on Feb. 12 when it struck a tree in heavy snow. He then drove the car a little over a mile to the apartment complex where he lived in the small town of Savoy.\nBystanders called 911 after seeing the badly damaged car in the parking lot, with Smith’s passenger, teammate Brian Carlwell, still inside, Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said. A number of other team members were gathered at the apartment, Rietz said.\n“It appears that Smith was distraught, as he believed Carlwell had died in the crash,” Rietz said in a written statement.\nSmith’s blood-alcohol level was .176 after the crash, more than twice the legal limit of .08, Rietz said.\nRietz said university police investigating the accident found that Smith and Carlwell had been drinking tequila and beer with others at an apartment in his complex, and left just after 11 p.m. The release doesn’t specify where they went.\nSmith lost control of the Lexus – registered to his grandparents – which hit the tree on the passenger side, authorities said.\nCarlwell, 19, suffered a severe concussion and spent four days at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana before being released last Friday. He was well enough to sit on the bench at Sunday’s game against Northwestern at Assembly Hall, and could play in the postseason, basketball coach Bruce Weber has said.\nSmith, a sophomore guard, was taken to the same hospital by unidentified coaches and university police, Rietz said. He was treated for a minor concussion and released early the next morning.\nWitnesses reported seeing the Lexus pull into the apartment parking lot, then saw a tall man wearing University of Illinois sweat pants leave the car and enter the apartment building, leaving an unconscious Carlwell in the car, Rietz said. Shortly afterward, the tall man returned with a second man, then left and went back in the building, she said.\nSmith was not in custody Tuesday, Rietz said. She said he is expected to appear in court at a date to be set. Smith’s attorney, Mark Lipton, was in court Tuesday and not available for comment, his office said.\nIn a written statement, Weber criticized his player but said he is still part of the school’s basketball program.\n“This was a case of extremely poor judgment by Jamar,” Weber said. “He remains a part of our family and needs us now more than ever.”\nAggravated driving under the influence is a Class 4 felony that carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison. Leaving the scene is a Class 3 felony and carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, Rietz said. Someone convicted of either charge, though, could be placed on probation, she added.