UConn men's basketball player James Bouknight has been charged by police after crashing a vehicle on campus and fleeing an officer, according to campus police.
Bouknight, a 19-year-old freshman, was charged with evading responsibility, interfering with a police officer, traveling too fast for conditions and operation of a motor vehicle without a license stemming from the incident, which occurred Sept. 27. He turned himself in on a warrant Monday and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 29.
A police officer witnessed a vehicle "traveling at a high rate of speed" at about 1:32 a.m. Sept. 27 before hearing screeching tires and witnessing the vehicle crash into a street sign at the intersection of Royce Circle and Wilbur Cross Way, according to a police report. The officer approached the vehicle and Bouknight got out, telling police he did not have any identification, the report continued.
When the officer asked a second time for identification, Bouknight took off and ran, the report stated. Officers canvassed the area and witnessed someone matching Bouknight's description enter a residence hall but were unable to track him down. Records showed that Bouknight also entered that hall during the same time frame. The UConn freshman has since provided a sworn written statement admitting to his actions, the report states.
After turning himself in Monday, Bouknight was released on a $1,500 non-surety bond.
His status with the team is unclear as it was stated UConn coach Dan Hurley "continues to deal with the matter internally."
"Like many college freshmen away from home for the first time, James made some immature decisions that will affect not only himself, but his family and his teammates," Hurley said in a statement. "But he accepted responsibility for his actions early on and will deal with the consequences � within the structure of the team as well as on the outside. I am confident that he will use this unfortunate situation as a hard learning experience."
"I was irresponsible and made some foolish choices that I regret," Bouknight said. "I want to apologize to my family, my coaches, and my teammates for this situation and for creating an unnecessary distraction as we get ready for the upcoming season.
"But I intend to use this experience to learn from my mistakes and make better life decisions going forward."
Bouknight is considered an athletic guard who is expected to contribute right away to the Huskies. He committed to UConn in September 2018 while playing for the MacDuffie School in Massachusetts. He grew up in New York.
"He oozes talent," Hurley said of Bouknight earlier this month. "He's almost too talented for his own good, because he plays in spurts. Because he's so talented he can play in spurts and still be really, really impressive, but he's probably gotten the brunt of the most coaching and criticism through the early part."
Bouknight was also a participant in UConn's First Night festivities last week, throwing down a dunk while leaping over teammate Richie Springs.
UConn plays its first exhibition game Oct. 30 against St. Michael's College.
Two years ago, just before the start of the season, Jalen Adams was similarly involved in a vehicular-related police incident. Adams was issued a misdemeanor summons following a scooter crash near campus and left the scene. He was released on a $500 non-surety bond and later had the charge reduced to an infraction. He was suspended for the first game of the season.
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