Arrest warrant out for potential top NFL pick Jalen Carter

An arrest warrant has been issued for the potential top overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, Jalen Carter, stemming from his alleged role in a January traffic crash that killed a teammate and a University of Georgia staffer.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is wanted on a charge of reckless driving and racing after an investigation found that Carter was allegedly street racing with Chandler LeCroy on Jan. 15.

LeCroy, the program staffer, and offensive lineman Devin Willock were killed when the Ford Expedition LeCroy was driving left the road at a high rate of speed and crashed into two telephone poles.

Below is an excerpt from the Athens-Clarke County Police statement:

“The investigation found that Chandler LeCroy, driver of the 2021 Ford Expedition, and Jalen Carter, driver of a 2021 Jeep Trackhawk, were operating their vehicles in a manner consistent with racing shortly after leaving the downtown Athens area at about 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. Evidence indicated that shortly before the crash the Expedition was traveling at about 104 miles per hour. The toxicology report indicated that LeCroy’s blood alcohol concentration was .197 at the time of the crash. Investigators determined that alcohol impairment, racing, reckless driving and speed were significant contributing factors to the crash.”

According to a recent report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carter was at the scene of the crash and left before emergency first responders arrived.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution report notes that police were able to obtain surveillance video from city cameras along the route the vehicles traveled the night of the crash. The crash happened in the early morning hours after Georgia’s national championship celebration and players and members of the recruiting staff were last at a strip club in downtown Athens and heading for a Waffle House when the crash occurred.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart released a statement on Wednesday regarding the breaking news.

“The charges announced today are deeply concerning, especially as we are still struggling to cope with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community. We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities while supporting these families and assessing what we can learn from this horrible tragedy,” Kirby said.

Carter has played a key role for Georgia as the Bulldogs have won back-to-back national titles. He had six sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons. He’s widely considered to be one of the best defensive players in the NFL Draft.

To read the full story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, click here.