Nuggets' J.R. Smith gets 30 days for crash

MILLSTONE, N.J., July 1 (UPI) -- Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith must spend 30 days behind bars in New Jersey for a fatal crash and spend 500 hours with children in hospitals.

Smith, 23, legally Earl J. Smith III, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Millstone Municipal Court to reckless driving, the Asbury Park Press and The Denver Post reported. Smith was behind the wheel on June 9, 2007, when he drove through a stop sign, causing a collision that left his friend, Andre Bell, with fatal head injuries.

Judge Debra Gelson imposed a 90-day jail sentence and then suspended 60 days as long as Smith performs community service.

She also suspended his driver's license, already suspended through March 2010, for an additional two years, and ordered Smith to pay the maximum $500 fine.

Smith apologized in court to Bell's mother, Wanda.

Gelson said Smith must spend 500 hours visiting hospitalized children ages 5 to 15.

"I want this to be a very personal action," she said.

Smith has already been penalized by the Nuggets with a two-game suspension in the 2007-08 season. He joined the team in 2006 and re-signed last August.