Jalen Carter, a championship-winning defensive lineman at Georgia and a top NFL Draft prospect, declares that he will likely be “fully exonerated” of accusations that he was racing and driving recklessly in reference to a crash that killed a former teammate and football team staffer.
Former Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy died following a single-car accident early within the morning of Jan. 15.
On Wednesday, Athens-Clarke County police alleged that Carter was driving a separate automobile “in a fashion consistent with racing” on the time the opposite vehicle crashed and the 2 people in it died.
After the misdemeanor charges were announced, Carter issued a press release on Twitter declaring his innocence.
“This morning I received a telephone call from the Athens Georgia Police Department informing me that two misdemeanor warrants have been issued against me for reckless driving and racing,” Carter wrote.
“Quite a few media reports even have circulated this morning containing inaccurate information regarding the tragic events of January 15, 2023.
“It’s my intention to return to Athens to reply the misdemeanor charges against me and to make sure that the whole and accurate truth is presented.
“There isn’t a query in my mind that when all the facts are known that I will likely be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”
Police had said that Carter was driving a 2021 Jeep Trackhawk while LeCroy was behind the wheel of a 2021 Ford Expedition.
“The evidence demonstrated that each vehicles switched between lanes, drove in the middle turn lane, drove in opposite lanes of travel, overtook other motorists, and drove at high rates of speed, in an apparent try and outdistance one another,” the Athens-Clarke County Police Department claimed earlier Wednesday.
“Evidence indicated that shortly before the crash the Expedition was traveling at about 104 miles per hour.”
After the fees were announced, Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer said that skilled teams had already been probing potential red flags about Carter.
“NFL teams had loads of questions concerning Jalen Carter’s maturity/makeup that went back well before this incident,” Breer tweeted.
“Obviously, this might qualify as a reasonably serious red flag stemming from a tragic situation. Those within the Top 5 have rather a lot to dig through on the Georgia star.”