Eagles rookie Jalen Carter sued for involvement in car accident
Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Philadelphia Eagles rookie Jalen Carter is being sued by a former Georgia Bulldogs staffer for his involvement in a deadly car wreck that happened in February. Per Schlabach, the lawsuit also "accuses the UGA athletic association of negligence and contradicts public statements by Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart and other officials, […]
Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Philadelphia Eagles rookie Jalen Carter is being sued by a former Georgia Bulldogs staffer for his involvement in a deadly car wreck that happened in February.
Per Schlabach, the lawsuit also "accuses the UGA athletic association of negligence and contradicts public statements by Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart and other officials, who have claimed that recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy shouldn't have been driving the leased SUV when it left the road and struck trees and utility poles".
Georgia's athletic association issued a statement after the wreck citing that "rental vehicles were to be turned in at the immediate conclusion of recruiting duties". Meaning, LeCroy was in violation of the school's policy. According to the lawsuit, multiple text messages state otherwise.
"On the evening of the Championship Celebration, LeCroy told Ms. Bowles that she [LeCroy] had 'permission' to keep the SUV 'until tomorrow. 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." – Victoria Bowles' lawsuit, via ESPN
LeCroy was also cited several times for speeding in the past. One incident even occurred with her supervisor in the car and it was considered a "super speeder" violation. The lawsuit cites the context as negligence on the association's part, especially considering LeCroy's boss knew about her speeding habit. It also says LeCroy's vehicle was "traveling at least 104.2 mph when it crashed and had been racing another SUV driven by Carter for 45 seconds or less. Police said LeCroy's blood alcohol concentration was .197, nearly 2½ times the legal limit in Georgia".
Finally, the lawsuit "accuses Carter of illegally leaving the scene without speaking to law enforcement and failing to render aid".
Victoria Bowles survived the incident, but has incurred over $170,000 in medical bills and is likely disable for the rest of her life. She is seeking restitution for her medical bills.
Carter was drafted ninth overall by the Eagles back in April. He originally pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 12 months probation, a $1,000 fine and 80 hours of community service. He will also attend a state-approved defensive driving course.
Carter could easily face discipline from the NFL if Bowles wins the lawsuit. Leaving the scene of a deadly accident is considered a felony in Georgia and it's very likely the NFL will frown upon that kind of association, especially considering the former Bulldog plead no contest back in March.
At the same time, Carter's attorney previously said Carter didn't flee the scene and Carter even "returned to the scene at the request of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department to answer additional questions and continued to cooperate throughout the investigation".
“The idea that he fled the scene is unsupported by anything I saw in my review of the case," Carter's attorney Kim Stephens told DawgsCentral back in March. Now that the case is over everything related to the investigation is subject to an open records request. There shouldn’t be any question about what happened. He did not leave the scene until he was told he could leave the scene.
"My information from the police reports, video and our investigation is he was told he could leave. He left, and before he was able to get home, he was called and asked to return. He returned, gave an interview to the investigators, and gave them the phone number of his passenger. The passenger interviewed with police sometime later.”
The NFL doesn't have to play by the real world's rules, though. This will certainly be something to monitor over the coming weeks.
You can check out Schlabach's full report, here.
Former NFL GM has concerns about the Eagles’ ability to protect Jalen Hurts
The Eagles don’t have many weaknesses, but the offensive line could be one.
Featured image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
