New Jalen Carter testimony reveals why he didn’t aid UGA crash victims

Plaintiffs’ attorneys in a University of Georgia crash lawsuit revealed new information this week from the testimony of NFL star Jalen Carter, who was driving alongside an SUV before it crashed in 2023, killing a teammate and a team recruiting staffer.

In a legal complaint filed Wednesday by attorneys for a former UGA recruiting staffer who survived the crash, Victoria “Tory” Bowles, they say Carter’s failure to render aid to the crash victims, his high-speed driving and his contradictory testimony in a sworn deposition taken this summer clears the legal bar for Bowles to seek more than the $250,000 in punitive damages allowed under Georgia law.

Carter’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing.

Bowles was a passenger in the Jan. 15, 2023, crash that shook the UGA football program just as it was celebrating its second consecutive national championship. Recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy, who was driving the SUV that crashed, and one of her passengers, UGA football player Devin Willock, died. Willock’s family has also filed suit against Carter.

Following the crash, Carter was charged with racing and reckless driving and pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to 12 months probation and community service and fined $1,000.

A police investigation found both Carter and LeCroy reached speeds of up to 99 mph en route to a Waffle House late at night on Barnett Shoals Road in Athens. The investigation determined LeCroy’s blood alcohol level was 0.197 at the time of the crash, twice the legal limit.

The July deposition excerpts represent yet another revelation in the bitter lawsuit that has revealed intimate details about UGA’s football program.

Last year, Bowles’ attorneys published text messages supporting allegations that coaches and staffers regularly drove vehicles rented by the UGA Athletic Association after drinking and spent cash on unofficial visits, a potential violation of NCAA rules. The program has also continued to face speeding issues among players in the years since the crash.

Bowles settled her claims against the UGA Athletic Association for $1.5 million in August 2024.

In this week’s court filing, Bowles’ attorneys focused on Carter’s actions, drawing on his testimony as well as video and other evidence gathered during the police investigation of the accident. The complaint highlights inconsistencies in his testimony as well as his failure to render aid in the aftermath of the crash.

Carter admits in his deposition he was driving recklessly as he drove out of downtown Athens in a 700-horsepower Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk he acquired in a Name, Image and Likeness deal, according to deposition excerpts. Carter also testified he has no knowledge of ever driving his Trackhawk over the speed limit. Police investigators determined Carter and LeCroy were traveling beside each other at 99 mph as they passed a gas station less than half a mile from the crash site, the complaint said.

The filing also sheds new light on the immediate aftermath of the crash. Bowles’ attorneys said no officers were aware Carter was a witness until roughly an hour and a half after the accident and said the former UGA defensive star did little to help Bowles or other victims.

In his deposition, Carter said he called out for names but did not approach the wrecked SUV or check on Willock because he worried he could hurt himself walking from the street down a short embankment to the crash site.

When asked why he didn’t visit Bowles in the hospital following the accident, Carter said, “She wasn’t helping me get to the NFL. That was my coaches. I was going to people I needed.”

Carter and his attorneys have said he was told he could leave the scene of the crash, but testimony from police officers contradict this claim. Multiple officers testified that nobody within their department told Carter he could leave.

When asked if Carter should have been asked to stay at the scene if he was a witness, the Athens police lead accident reconstruction investigator said, “Yes, sir. If you’re involved in a collision, yes. You have to stay at the scene.”

Carter was eventually called back to the scene by Bryant Gantt, a UGA football staffer who frequently got involved when football players received traffic tickets or got in trouble with law enforcement, according to the filing. After returning, Carter was interviewed on scene and told a police officer he believed LeCroy was drunk. Carter in his deposition backtracked from that earlier statement, according to the complaint.

“He reasonably foresaw the consequences of his failure to provide physical assistance and emotional comfort to critically injured and dying victims,” the complaint reads.