Bears linebacker Lance Briggs was fined $485 and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges of leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report a crash.
Briggs’ 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago, valued at $350,000, was found wrecked and abandoned around 3:15 a.m. Aug. 27 on the northbound lanes of the Edens Expressway near Devon Avenue, authorities said.
Police said there was no evidence of alcohol use at the crash site.
Cook County prosecutors said Thursday that Briggs reported to police that his car was stolen and later changed his story and admitted he crashed the vehicle and fled.
Briggs could have been sentenced to up to a year in jail and fined as much as $2,500 for leaving the scene of the crash, prosecutors said in August.
A charge of improper lane usage was dropped in exchange for Briggs’ guilty plea.
Judge Earl Hoffenberg said he wants Briggs’ community service to involve talking to children about safe driving.
“I think [children] will pay attention to what you have to say,” Hoffenberg told Briggs. “I hope, based on what I’ve seen here, you’ve learned a valuable lesson.”
Before accepting the plea deal, Hoffenberg asked Briggs if he was guilty, and he replied, “Yes.”
Hoffenberg asked him if he wanted to say anything else, and Briggs declined.
