Raheem Sterling Pleads Guilty to Dangerous Driving and Nitrous Oxide Possession

Raheem Sterling has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and possessing nitrous oxide after crashing his Lamborghini on a U.K. motorway in May.

The former Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal winger appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where he admitted to wrongful inhalation of nitrous oxide and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Early-morning crash on the M3

Police were called on the morning of May 28, 2026, to the M3 southbound near the Minley Interchange in Hampshire. Sterling’s Lamborghini had left its lane, crossed into the central reservation and then hit a metal gate at a turnout.

A Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson described it at the time as “a single vehicle collision, involving a Lamborghini, on the M3 southbound, close to the Minley Interchange [Hampshire], on May 28, 2026. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.”

When officers reached the car, the 31-year-old was found in the passenger seat. The driver’s seat was empty. Sterling was reportedly cradling two nitrous oxide canisters on his lap, with a total of six canisters recovered.

One eyewitness, giving evidence in court, called it “absolutely horrendous driving.”

Admitted charges and what comes next

Sterling accepted three charges: dangerous driving, possession of six canisters of nitrous oxide – a Class C drug commonly known as laughing gas – and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Those admissions leave him facing serious potential sanctions.

Under the U.K. Highway Code, Parliament sets the maximum penalties for road traffic offences, with courts deciding the sentence based on the circumstances of each case. Dangerous driving carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, an unlimited fine and a mandatory driving disqualification.

Police guidance on drug driving states that if a driver is over the drink-drive limit and/or impaired by drugs, they can receive a criminal record, up to six months in prison, an unlimited fine and an automatic driving ban of at least one year – rising to three years for a second conviction within 10 years.

Sterling now waits to discover how heavily the court will weigh those guidelines against the details of a crash that, by luck rather than judgment, left nobody else involved and nobody hurt.