Jalen Carter Car Crash - Police Issue Arrest Warrant

Police have issued an arrest warrant for University of Georgia football star Jalen Carter for his alleged involvement in a car crash that killed his teammate Devin Willock and team staff member Chandler LeCroy.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a statement to that the 21-year-old is wanted for reckless driving and racing.

Police claim Carter, driving a 2021 Jeep Trackhawk, and, was racing LeCroy, who was driving a 2021 Ford Expedition, after they left Athens, Ga. just after 2:30 a.m.

“The evidence demonstrated that both vehicles 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, in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other,” police said in a statement.

Police say they believe LeCroy was speeding at 104 miles per hour and had also been intoxicated, with a blood alcohol concentration of .197, during the time of the crash.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported based on documents obtained from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department that Carter had spoken to officers on the scene and provided clashing statements. He reportedly told officers initially that he heard the crash from a nearby apartment building, then claimed that he had been driving behind LeCroy. He had also allegedly denied he had been racing to the police.

Carter is the No. 1 overall prospect in this year’s NFL scouting combine draft, according to ESPN, and he is set to address reporters on Wednesday.

Jalen Carter Car Crash details

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in an initial report released days after the crash that LeCroy “failed to negotiate a left curve, resulting in the vehicle striking a curb with its front passenger tire and leaving the roadway,” going on to strike a “[Georgia] Power Pole and another utility pole cutting them in half.”

Her car then “struck a tree with its rear passenger quarter panel” and the vehicle began “rotating clockwise” before striking another tree on the driver’s side. Willock had been ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, per the report.

The crash happened at 2:45 a.m., just hours after fans packed Sanford Stadium to celebrate the team’s national championship.

Former players, like Jordan Davis of the Philadelphia Eagles, and current players, like linebacker Nolan Smith, shared tributes to both Willock and LeCroy on social media following news of the crash.

Culled from PEOPLE

Jalen Carter UGA

Jalen Da’Quan Carter (born April 4, 2001) is an American football defensive tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs. He was a two-time CFP national champion with the Bulldogs, winning in 2021 and 2022.

Carter was born on April 4, 2001, Apopka, Florida, later attending Apopka High School.As a senior, he had 12 sacks, 64 tackles, and a touchdown. A five-star recruit ranked the 18th overall prospect in his class, Carter committed to play college football at the University of Georgia.

Carter played in eight games as a freshman, recording 12 tackles and a touchdown reception.In Carter’s sophomore season, he tallied 31 tackles and three sacks in 12 games.

This performance earned him a spot on the 2021 All-SEC football team.

Georgia won the National Championship that year over Alabama. Carter declared for the 2023 NFL Draft after the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship, in which the Bulldogs also won.

On March 1, 2023, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Jalen Carter on charges of reckless driving and racing in connection with a January car crash that killed teammate Devin Willock and a team staffer.

Carter was allegedly racing a car driven by the team staffer at speeds of over 100 miles per hour with the staffer recording a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .19.

The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

They play their home games at historic Sanford Stadium on the university’s Athens, Georgia, campus.

Georgia claims four consensus national championships (1942, 1980, 2021, and 2022); while the AP and Coaches Polls have each voted the Bulldogs the national champion three times (1980, 2021, and 2022).

Georgia has also been named the National Champion by at least one polling authority in four other seasons (1920, 1927, 1946 and 1968).

The Bulldogs’ other accomplishments include 16 conference championships, of which 14 are SEC championships, second-most in conference history, and appearances in 61 bowl games, second-most all-time.

The program has also produced two Heisman Trophy winners, five number-one National Football League (NFL) draft picks, and many winners of other national awards.

In addition to its storied history, the team is known for its unique traditions and rabid fan base, known as the “Bulldog Nation.”

Georgia has won over 860 games in its history, placing them 9th all-time in wins and has finished in the Top 10 of the AP Poll 27 times, 14 of which were Top 5 finishes.

Culled from Wikipedia

Jalen Carter NFL draft

Jalen Carter was a highly-regarded recruit that was compared to Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. The athleticism for a defensive tackle is obviously a result of being a three-sport athlete in high school. Along with football, Carter was on the basketball team and was a weightlifter. He came in second place in his heavyweight division by bench-pressing 395 pounds. His first two seasons on the field were as a rotational disruptor until he became the unquestioned starter in 2022.

Carter has been called the best defensive player on that historic 2021 Georgia defense. His motor runs hot on both run and passing plays. Carter does not lack effort. He is seen chasing the ball to the far sideline and upfield as a backside defender. In the run game, despite not having the frame of a traditional nose tackle, Carter holds up well at the point of attack reduced inside. He plays the 0,1, 3, and 5-techniques. I love his body control to handle double teams and corkscrew/twist through blocks to impact the ball carrier. I noticed improvement with his lower body to anchor and hold his ground to clog running lanes. His power can be overwhelming for opponents. He can stonewall zone-reach blocks to sit and occupy that lane. Carter cuts off those block attempts and leverages gaps well for a young player. He shuts the door/designed gap in the face of running backs. He’s a difficult task to move consistently in the run game.

As a pass rusher, Carter’s versatility is on display. He exchanges gaps on a routine basis with the defensive line games Kirby Smart ran. The lower-body flexibility to drop his weight and dip/slip underneath blockers’ hands was impressive. In the moments he does get to attack a single gap, he has a devasting club/swim combination that knocks offensive linemen off balance and creates clear paths to the quarterback. He has the hand and functional power to simply drive blockers into the lap of their passer. When he fires off the ball, Carter’s first step is quick and puts him into the offensive lineman’s space in a hurry.

Carter remains a very young player and it shows in his game. He is not the most technically refined defensive prospect at this stage of his development. He does not rush with a consistent plan to attack pass-blocking schemes. He relies too heavily on that club/swim combination and it opens his chest for quick/powerful-handed punching linemen. He needs to continue to develop his pass-rush hand package to take his game to the next level. Georgia used him heavily as a looper on twists and stunts to free up other rushers, but to his technical detriment. His pad level needs more consistency to fully take advantage of his raw power. He will pop straight up out of his stance after the snap and surrender the immediate leverage advantage.

In all, Carter is a top-three player and arguably the best prospect in the 2023 class. His raw athleticism and physical strength are a dangerous combination for blockers to handle. The way Smart used Carter is not how I envision an NFL defensive coordinator deploying him. Carter is a day-one starter and his ceiling is very high. Iron out some of the technical wrinkles in his game and this young man can skyrocket in the NFL as a disruptive force on the defensive line.

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