Former Georgia football staffer sues UGA, Jalen Carter over fatal car wreck
Victoria Bowles, a former Georgia football recruiting staffer who survived the Jan. 15 car accident that killed Bulldogs player Devin Willock and staffer Chandler LeCroy, has filed a lawsuit against the UGA athletic department and former star defensive lineman Jalen Carter.
The suit alleges negligence on the part of the UGA Athletic Association and contradicts several statements made about the crash, including by Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and other officials in the program who said that LeCroy should not have been driving the leased car when it went off the road and crashed.
The accident took place several hours after Georgia celebrated winning its second straight College Football Playoff national championship. After the crash, the athletic association issued a statement which noted that rented vehicles were supposed to be returned at the end of recruiting duties.
"On the evening of the Championship Celebration, LeCroy told Ms. Bowles that she [LeCroy] had 'permission' to keep the SUV 'until tomorrow,'" the statement in Bowles' lawsuit said in part.
"Numerous text messages from recruiting staff supervisors to LeCroy, Ms. Bowles, and other staff members show the Association's statement is false. Recruiting staff were regularly informed they could leave their personal vehicles overnight at the Butts-Mehre football facility and permissively use Association rental vehicles through a specified cut-off date and time, unrelated to their assigned recruiting activity duties."
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The lawsuit also accuses Carter, now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, with illegally leaving the scene of the accident without first speaking to police and failing to offer help to those involved. Carter was apparently racing LeCroy right before the wreck, but did not crash himself.
Carter faced charges of reckless driving and racing, ultimately pleading no contest and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $1,000 fine, and 80 hours of community service, but was not charged with driving on a suspended license.
Georgia responded to the claims by saying it will defend itself.
"We are reviewing the complaint, but we dispute its claims and will defend the Athletic Association's interest in court," its statement said.
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