A woman who survived the fatal car crash that killed a Georgia football player and a recruiting staff member Jan. 15 has filed a lawsuit against former Bulldogs defensive lineman Jalen Carter and the University of Georgia Athletic Association, per ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.
Victoria Bowles, a former recruiting analyst for the school, alleged that the athletic association was negligent when it allowed recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy to keep the university-leased SUV the evening of the team’s national championship celebration in Athens, Ga. LeCroy was driving the car that police say was racing against another car driven by Carter, while offensive lineman Devin Willock was one of LeCroy’s passengers. The wreck killed both LeCroy and Willock and injured two other passengers.
Bowles’s accusations contradict the university’s statement that read, “rental vehicles were to be turned in at the immediate conclusion 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 lawsuit states, per ESPN. “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.”
Bowles’s lawyers also allege the university was aware LeCroy had at least four speeding tickets on her driving record, including two “super speeder” violations. LeCroy’s blood alcohol concentration was .197, more than double the legal limit in Georgia.
The lawsuit details the injuries Bowles sustained in the wreck, including three lumbar fractures, five fractured vertebrae, 10 broken ribs, a broken clavicle, fractured and cracked teeth, kidney and liver lacerations, a punctured and collapsed lung, abdominal bleeding, and head and spinal cord injuries.
The lawsuit also accused Carter of illegally leaving the scene of the crash without speaking to law enforcement.
“As Defendant Carter was aware at the time, he was jointly responsible for the crash, and had a legal duty to remain on the scene,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, in part obviously fearful of bad publicity and the effect on his NFL draft status, he hoped not to be questioned or take any responsibility for his actions.”
In March, Carter pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing in connection to the crash. He was selected with the No. 9 pick in the 2023 NFL draft in April by the Eagles.
Bowles’s lawsuit comes two months after Dave Willock, father of Devin, filed a suit against Carter, the athletic association and other defendants, seeking $40 million in damages.