Oregon wide receiver Messiah Hampton was arrested Friday in connection with a high-speed chase on Oct. 18 in Springfield, Oregon. He faces two felony charges of attempting to elude police and one misdemeanor charge of reckless driving, jail records show. Hampton was booked into Lane County Jail and released Friday evening.
The incident occurred just after 3:51 a.m., hours after Oregon defeated Nebraska at home. Springfield police pursued two vehicles, with no immediate arrests at the time. One vehicle was abandoned near where teammate Evan Stewart was later arrested on DUII charges. Police did not link Stewart to the chase and are still identifying the second driver.
Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson also received a speeding ticket that morning but was not named as a suspect. Head coach Dan Lanning referenced the incident at a news conference on Oct. 19, calling it something that "didn't match our standard" and saying it overshadowed the team's success. He noted discipline would be handled internally.
Hampton, a freshman, was listed on the Big Ten availability report for the second straight week. The Ducks host Northwestern on Saturday following a season that began with a No. 2 preseason ranking but has since seen three losses, leaving Oregon unranked.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing