Illinois basketball player Jamar Smith began serving a 15-day jail sentence Thursday immediately after pleading guilty in Champaign County Circuit Court to aggravated driving under the influence.

Under the plea agreement negotiated by Smith's attorney, Mark Lipton, with Champaign County State's Atty. Julie Rietz, charges of leaving the scene of an accident were dropped.

Smith was driving a vehicle his grandparents owned when it skidded off a snow-slickened Champaign street Feb. 12 and struck a tree, seriously inuring his passenger, teammate Brian Carlwell.

Smith drove back to his apartment after the crash, leaving the unconscious Carlwell inside the severely damaged car. After a resident of the apartment complex called 911, Carlwell was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital, where he was treated for a severe concussion.