Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus reached a plea deal in a street-racing case that cost him a $300 fine.
After being originally charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving, unlawful speed contest, failure to keep right, leaving the scene of an accident, imprudent speed, and unlawful lane change, Dareus was ticketed for two traffic violations on Tuesday under the plea deal, according to a report from WKBW in Buffalo and the Associated Press -- failure to keep right and imprudent speed. The charges stemmed from an illegal street race last May that resulted in Dareus crashing his 2012 Jaguar into a tree.
Judge Gerald Gorman in the Town of Hamburg (N.Y.) Court handed down the maximum fine of $150 for each ticket, and Dareus paid the $300. As part of the plea deal, the former Alabama star also agreed to hold a free football camp for Erie County high school players this summer.
"It was just a very unfortunate incident, and I just really didn't mean to be a distraction to the team and to the community," Dareus said in a statement afterward, as shared by the AP. "I'm just really looking forward to being a very positive influence in Western New York for many years to come."
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The deal means Dareus won't have to stand trial next month after rejecting a previous deal to plead guilty to reckless driving. That charge would have left him in line for disciplinary action from the NFL for violating the league's player code of conduct policy. The league could still punish Dareus with a fine and/or suspension.
Dareus was also arrested in Alabama in May on a charge of felony possession of a controlled substance -- "spice," or synthetic cannabis. He was allowed to enter a pretrial-intervention program in that case and can have the charges dropped if he completes the court-ordered requirements.