Jalen Carter, a 21-year-old football player for the Georgia Bulldogs, has been accused of reckless driving and racing, resulting in a car crash that killed two people, including one of his teammates. The police in Georgia have an arrest warrant for him.
Carter, who has been widely predicted to be a top-five NFL Draft pick next month, received the warrant while in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the NFL scouting combine, an annual event that serves as an official audition for the best college football players.
The crash occurred on January 15, with Chandler LeCroy, 24, the team’s recruiting analyst, and Devin Willock, 20, Carter’s teammate, among the casualties. Two other members of the Georgia football team were injured in the accident.
According to police reports, Carter was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk in a high-speed race when the accident occurred. Ms. LeCroy was driving a Ford Expedition at speeds exceeding 100mph (160km/h), and toxicology reports showed that she had a blood alcohol concentration of more than double the legal limit.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department revealed that 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, apparently attempting to outdistance each other.
Carter, in a statement released on Twitter, has said that he expects to be “fully exonerated” and will return to Athens, Georgia, to answer the misdemeanor charges and “make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented”.
Kirby Smart, the head coach of the University of Georgia football team, has expressed deep concern about the charges, particularly as the team is still struggling to cope with the devastating loss of two of its members. The accident happened six days after Georgia won their second consecutive national college football championship and hours after a parade celebrating their victory.
