MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia tight end Jovani Haskins pleaded guilty Monday to a reckless driving charge he received this summer, and entered a deferred plea to secondary charges of fleeing from the scene.
The conditions of Haskins’ plea require a $500 fine, 100 hours of community service, completion of an 8-hour driving class and no new violations within the next year. His charge for driving left of center was dismissed.
The appearance in Monongalia County Magistrate Court stemmed from the July 28 incident.
According to the original incident report, a WVU police officer spotted a white Audi A4 speeding on University Avenue about 3:15 a.m. July 28. The officer saw the car almost strike another vehicle in the turning lane of University and Campus avenues.
The officer activated his emergency lights but the vehicle continued on at a high rate of speed and crossed the center line “multiple times.” A second officer saw the same car speed down University Avenue before it passed another car using the turning lane and moved into the oncoming traffic lane.
After getting stuck in traffic, the Audi turned down Ensign Avenue and parked in the Metro Towers parking area, the criminal complaint said. The driver, later identified as Haskins, got out and ran away.
Though his football punishment not publicly disclosed by WVU coach Neal Brown, Haskins was noticeably kept off the field for the first half of the season opener against James Madison.
His season has not gone as planned since then. Haskins has only touched the ball in one game, when he had three catches for 13 yards against Texas. He did not play against Baylor on Thursday.
The Dominion Post was first to report Haskins’ plea.