Draft prospect Carter faces charges from fatal crash
Warrants were issued Wednesday for the arrest of Jalen Carter, a potential top-five pick in the coming NFL draft, in connection with a car crash in January that killed two people, including a Georgia teammate. The crash took place hours after the team's parade for winning the national championship.
The arrest warrants accuse Carter of misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and racing. Police said Wednesday that they had been in contact with Carter's representatives to arrange his surrender.
“There is no question in my mind that when all the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing,” Carter said in a statement.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department said Carter, who had not been publicly connected to the crash earlier, had been racing his vehicle with one driven by Chandler LeCroy, a recruiting analyst for the team.
According to the police account, both cars darted into oncoming traffic lanes before the crash in Athens, Ga., on Jan. 15. LeCroy's Ford Expedition was traveling at about 100 mph when it left the road and crashed into a power pole, killing LeCroy, 24, and Devin Willock, 20, a redshirt sophomore on the team.
Though he allegedly drove away at first, Carter returned to the scene about 90 minutes later to speak with officers.
ELSEWHERE MLB ready to assume telecasts for 17 teams
Major League Baseball is preparing for a possible takeover of broadcasts for 17 teams amid the financial deterioration of the Bally and AT&T SportsNet regional sports networks.
Diamond Sports Group, the subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group that operates networks under the name Bally Sports, has the rights to 14 major league teams and skipped about $140 million in interest payments due
Feb. 15. A bankruptcy filing is possible.
Diamond owns rights to the broadcasts for the Diamondbacks, Braves, Reds, Guardians, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Marlins, Brewers, Twins, Cardinals, Padres, Rays and Rangers. Similarly, Warner Bros. Discovery's AT&T SportsNet networks told the Rockies, Astros and Pirates last week that the companies do not have the money to make scheduled rights fee payments.
NFL: Coach Brian Flores can press discrimination claims against the NFL and three teams after a New York federal judge rejected the option of arbitration, presumably before commissioner Roger Goodell. The judge said Flores can let a jury decide the merits of his discrimination claims against the league, the Texans, the Broncos and the Giants, but he must pursue his claims against the Dolphins through arbitration.
NBA: Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting in his Suns debut, helping Phoenix snap the Hornets' five-game winning streak with a wire-towire 105-91 victory at Charlotte.
College basketball: Jahvon Quinerly scored 24 points, Brandon Miller made the clinching free throws with six seconds left as No. 2 Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat archrival Auburn 90-85 in overtime at Tuscaloosa.