Potential top NFL Draft pick Jalen Carter was back Thursday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, hours after he turned himself in to Georgia police over an alleged role in a deadly January car crash.
Carter, a defensive tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs, returned to Athens, Ga., on Wednesday and posted $4,000 in bonds on racing and reckless driving charges, online records show. He was released at 11:49 p.m., less than 20 minutes after he was booked.
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In a tweet Wednesday, Carter said he expects to be “fully exonerated” after authorities accused him of racing University of Georgia recruiting coordinator Chandler LeCroy on Jan. 15. LeCroy and Bulldogs player Devin Willock, who was a passenger in the athletics department SUV LeCroy was driving, both died when she crashed.
Carter, 21, wrote he was returning to Athens to “make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented.”
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Police said in an arrest warrant that, before the crash, Carter’s 2021 Jeep Trackhawk and the 2021 Ford Expedition driven by LeCroy “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.”
LeCroy, 24, was driving 104 miles per hour when she crashed, according to officials, who say she had a blood-alcohol concentration of .197 — more than twice the legal limit. However, Carter didn’t appear to be intoxicated, authorities said.
Carter is widely considered among the best prospects in next month’s NFL Draft, with some analysts projecting him to go first overall to the Chicago Bears before this week’s legal developments.
