College footballer Jalen Carter has been sentenced to 12 months probation after he failed to file a misdemeanor challenge for his involvement in a fatal car accident in January that killed one of his teammates and a co-worker, his attorney said Thursday.
In addition to the year of probation, Carter’s sentence requires him to pay a $1,000 fine, complete 80 hours of community service and complete a state-approved driving course, attorney Kim Stephens said in a press release.
Carter, a defense attorney for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team who was once a top contender for the current NFL draft, turned himself in to police in Athens — where the campus is and where the — shortly after authorities issued warrants for their arrest fatal crash took place for his arrest in early March.
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The Athens-Clarke County Police Department previously announced that Carter, 21, was charged with reckless driving and racing in connection with the accident. At the time, accounting records showed Carter surrendered to police around 11:30 p.m. on the night of March 1 and was released before midnight on $1,500 bail for the reckless driving fee and $2,500 bail for the race fee.
The charges stemmed from a car accident that occurred early in the morning of January 15 near the university. Originally ruled by police as the wreckage of a single vehicle, the accident resulted in the deaths of Devin Willock, a 20-year-old offensive lineman for the Bulldogs, and Chandler LeCroy, a 24-year-old football recruiting analyst for the team who previously had her graduated from the University of Georgia. According to police, Willock was pronounced dead at the scene. LeCroy was transported from the scene to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Jalen Carter watches as players warm up on the field before the NFL Football Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Darron Cummings/AP
A later investigation found that LeCroy, who was driving the car that crashed with Willock inside, and Carter, who was driving a second car that stopped two other people on the same road, “operated their vehicles in a manner consistent with racing.” was compatible”. The fatal crash, police said. Both cars drove from downtown Athens to the university campus at around 2:30 that morning. Police said their investigation also found LeCroy’s car was traveling at about 104 mph before the accident and her blood alcohol concentration was 0.197 when the accident happened.
“Investigators determined that alcohol impairment, race, reckless driving and speed were significant factors in the accident,” police said in announcing the charges against Carter.
Carter’s lawyer dealt with allegations the public had made against him in the wake of the car accident and arrest warrants, including suggestions that he had consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel and speculation as to why he left the scene of the accident for about an hour , before returning to testify to the police.
In her announcement on Thursday, Stephens wrote: “Mr. Carter never left the scene of the accident without being told to leave.” The attorney also said that Carter “was not drinking alcohol at the time of the accident and was not under the influence of alcohol or any other illegal substance.” She argued that if it had been him, police would have taken steps consistent with a DUI arrest after speaking to him at the scene.