UPDATE
10:30 AM PT — Jalen Carter just released a statement regarding the new allegations … saying he will leave the NFL’s combine in Indianapolis on Wednesday to return to Athens “to answer the misdemeanor charges against me and to make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented.”
UPDATE
The defensive lineman added, “There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”
Cops have just issued an arrest warrant for top NFL draft prospect Jalen Carter … after they said he was racing a Univ. of Georgia football assistant moments before her fatal car crash in January.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Dept. said Wednesday morning an investigation into the Jan. 15 wreck — the one that claimed the lives of UGA staffer Chandler LeCroy and Bulldogs football player Devin Willock — revealed Carter and LeCroy had been driving recklessly “in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other.”
They said the probe into the crash revealed Carter, driving a 2021 Jeep Trackhawk, and LeCroy, driving a 2021 Ford Expedition, “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” at around 2:30 AM after leaving the downtown Athens area.
They added that LeCroy made it up to 104 MPH … before she ultimately veered off the road and struck two power poles and trees — killing her and Willock, while injuring the other two passengers in the vehicle.
Cops said they’ve now secured arrest warrants against Carter, a star defensive lineman for Georgia the past three years, for reckless driving and racing.
Police also said Tuesday that a toxicology report showed LeCroy’s BAC was .197 at the time of the accident. They officially deemed alcohol impairment, racing, reckless driving, and speed as “significant contributing factors to the crash.”
LeCroy was just 24 years old. Willock was just 20.
21-year-old Carter, meanwhile, is projected to be a top-five pick in next month’s NFL draft — with some insiders believing he could go No. 1 overall. He was slated to speak at the NFL’s combine in Indianapolis later Tuesday. It’s unclear if that will still happen.
Originally Published — 7:41 AM PT