by - By Brandon Drenon
- BBC News, Washington
image source, Getty Images
Jalen Carter, a University of Georgia football star, received an arrest warrant in connection with a fatal car accident.
A star college football player heavily tipped for the NFL is facing arrest after a car crash that left two dead, including one of his teammates.
Georgia police have an arrest warrant for Jalen Carter, 21, for allegedly reckless driving and speeding over the Jan. 15 crash.
On Twitter, Carter released a statement saying he expects to be “fully exonerated.”
He has been projected to be a top-five NFL Draft pick next month.
Being selected virtually guarantees that footballers will become millionaires overnight.
Police say Carter, a defensive tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs, was behind the wheel of a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk in a high-speed chase that ended in the deaths of Chandler LeCroy, 24, the team’s recruiting analyst, and Devin Willock, 20, Mr Carter’s teammate.
LeCroy drove a Ford Expedition at speeds over 100 mph. Toxicology reports showed she had a blood alcohol concentration more than twice the legal limit.
Two other members of the Georgia football team were injured in the crash, which police initially believed involved only one vehicle.
“The evidence showed that both vehicles were switching lanes, driving in the center turn lane, driving in the opposite lane, passing other motorists and driving at a high rate of speed, in an apparent attempt to pass each other,” the Clarke County Police Department said in a statement.
Mr Carter received the warrant notice on Wednesday while in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the NFL scouting combine, an annual event that serves as an official audition for the top college football players.
It precedes the NFL Draft, where young athletes hope to make their football dreams come true and where contracts worth tens of millions of dollars hang in the balance.
On Twitter, Carter released a statement saying he will return to Athens, Georgia, to answer the allegations of wrongdoing and “ensure the full and accurate truth is presented”.
He said media reports had contained “inaccurate information” about the crash, without specifying details.
University of Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said, “The charges announced today are deeply troubling, especially as we continue to grapple with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community.”
The crash occurred six days after Georgia won its second straight national football championship, and hours after a parade celebrating that victory.
