Georgia's Carter subject to arrest warrant in fatal crash

Georgia’s Carter subject to arrest warrant in fatal crash

Jalen Carter, the former Georgia star and presumptive Top 5 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, is subject to an arrest warrant in Athens regarding the January wreck that killed teammate Devin Willock and Bulldogs recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy and injured two others.

According to a warrant issued by the Athens Clark County Police Department and obtained by The Athletic’s Seth Emerson, Carter is accused of operating his 2021 Jeep TrackHawk “in a manner consistent with racing” in the early-morning hours of Jan. 15. LeCroy was driving the other vehicle, a 2021 Ford Expedition owned by the Georgia athletic department, and is also believed to have been racing, according to police.

Carter faces two charges: reckless driving and racing. In addition to the deaths of Willock and LeCroy, the wreck also resulted in injuries to Georgia football player Warren McClendon and recruiting staffer Tori Bowles.

According to a statement from the Athens Clark County Police Department, “both vehicles switched between lanes, drove in the center turn lane, drove in opposite lanes of travel, overtook other motorists, and drove at high rates of speed, in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other.” LeCroy was found to be legally intoxicated at the time of the crash, at which her vehicle was traveling “about 104 mph.”

The wreck took place in the hours after the Georgia team celebrated its second straight national championship with a rally on the university campus. LeCroy and her party were leaving downtown Athens at approximately 2:30 a.m. and traveling back toward campus on Barnett Shoals Road, when the vehicle “failed to negotiate a curve and hit a curb, hit two utility poles and then two trees.”

LeCroy, 24, and Willock, a 20-year-old Bulldogs offensive linemen, were killed in the crash. McClendon, a starting offensive lineman who has since entered the NFL draft, suffered only minor injuries, while Bowles was more seriously injured.

Carter was a unanimous first-team All-American in 2022, and arguably the best player on the Georgia roster. He is expected to be among the top picks in April’s NFL draft, and was set to meet with the media on Wednesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart released a statement later Wednesday morning, calling the charges against Carter “deeply concerning”: