Former Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter released a statement Wednesday afternoon offering his first public comments since the Athens-Clarke County Police Department issued a warrant for his arrest. Carter, who was the projected No. 1 pick in Sports Illustrated’s most recent 2023 NFL mock draft, faces reckless driving and racing charges connected to a fatal January crash that killed two members of the Bulldogs football program.
In the statement posted to Twitter, Carter said that he received a phone call from police Wednesday morning and confirmed that a warrant for his arrest has been issued on charges of reckless driving and racing. The charges are misdemeanors, the police department confirmed to Sports Illustrated.
Carter continued, stating that he planned to return to Athens from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis to address the warrant and provide police with “the complete and accurate truth.”
“It is my intention to return to Athens to answer the misdemeanor charges against me and to make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented,” Carter said. “There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”
On Jan. 15, offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash that injured two other passengers in the hours after the Georgia football team celebrated its national championship victory with a parade. Police initially reported the early-morning incident to be a single-car crash.
However, in Wednesday’s statement by Athens police, authorities claimed LeCroy and Carter were allegedly operating separate vehicles in a “manner consistent with racing” after leaving the downtown Athens area around 2:30 a.m. ET. Investigators say they found evidence that the two 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,” according to the statement.
Carter was set to take part in the scouting combine when the charges against him were announced. He did not speak to reporters as scheduled Wednesday morning, as an NFL spokesman said that he was still in medical testing, according to Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports.
