ATHENS, Ga. — One of the survivors of the deadly crash that killed a University of Georgia football player and staff member hours after celebrating a championship win has filed a lawsuit partially blaming the incident on the university's athletics association.
The lawsuit itself was filed Wednesday by Victoria S. Bowles, a former recruiting analyst for the football team.
In addition to the athletic association, the lawsuit also throws blame at football player Jalen Carter and staff member Chandler LeCroy, who was killed after the Jan. 15 crash. It alleges both were driving at "extreme speeds" of "at least 104.2 mph, while engaged in street racing for 45 seconds before the crash."
As a result, the lawsuit, which is seeking damages against Carter, the university's athletic association and LeCroy's estate, argues passengers in LeCroy's vehicle had only a brief period of time to speak up against such high speed.
Both LeCroy and UGA player Devin Willock were killed during the crash. Bowles, the lawsuit says, was in the backseat of the vehicle when it drove off the road. Another football player, Warren McClendon, was also hurt in the crash.
The SUV had been rented by the University's athletic association and "entrusted to LeCroy as a permissive user."
Case against UGA Athletic Association
Most notably, the lawsuit pushes back against the notion by the UGA Athletic Association that LeCroy had not been authorized to use the vehicle, adding recruiters were “commonly instructed they could take their assigned rental SUVs home overnight and leave their personal vehicles parked at the UGA Athletic Association facilities on campus."
After the crash, the athletic association said staff had permission to drive the SUVs during "recruiting activities only," such as when recruits and their families visit campus. Yet, Bowles lawsuit includes multiple screenshots of text messages with athletic association officials telling her and others they could keep rental vehicles later.
One such exchange from 2019, with a staffer described as Bowles' immediate supervisor, reads as such:
Supervisor: "Haley said you're good! And you can take your car home if you need to!"
Bowles: "Wait, just making sure you mean I can take the SUV with me?"
Supervisor: "Yes! Take it home"
UGA Athletic Association's response
On Thursday, the university's athletic association released the following statement:
“We are continuing to review the complaint, as plaintiff’s counsel elected to share it with the media before sharing it with us. Based on our preliminary review, we dispute its claims and will vigorously defend the Athletic Association’s interests in court.
“We stand by our prior statements regarding this matter.
“The complaint does not allege that Ms. LeCroy and Ms. Bowles were on duty or acting within the scope of their employment in the hours leading up to the accident. It claims that on some previous occasions, recruiting staff were permitted to take rental vehicles home and return them the next morning. This does not mean, however, that they were allowed to use the car for any purpose. Recruiting vehicles were to be used during recruiting activities only, personal use of the vehicles was prohibited, and recruiting staff therefore were not authorized to use the rental vehicle for their purely personal activities on the night of the accident or any other time. Under no circumstances were recruiting staff authorized to use rental cars to drive at excessive speeds while intoxicated.
“While we have patiently supported Ms. Bowles during her long and difficult recovery, we will strongly defend our position in this lawsuit.”
Case against Chandler LeCroy
As for LeCroy herself, the lawsuit alleges the crash would have never happened had the athletic association not overlooked her "deplorable driving history and habitual operation of motor vehicles at high and unsafe speeds."
It goes on to describe an incident where the team's director of player support, Bryan Gantt, asked a court clerk to reduce the speed on a ticket LeCroy received so she could avoid penalties.
An 11Alive investigation found that LeCroy had at least four speeding citations in four counties from 2016 to 2022, and that at least one UGA official knew.
The lawsuit argues this "gave LeCroy an understanding that the association would continue to intervene on her behalf in relation to future speeding violations, thus encouraging and facilitating her high-speed driving and reckless conduct."
Case against Jalen Carter
Carter meanwhile is accused in the lawsuit of leaving the scene of the crash without giving aid to those injured.
“Instead, in part obviously fearful of bad publicity and the effect on his NFL draft status, he hoped not to be questioned or take any responsibility for his actions," the lawsuit reads.
It's important to note that Carter's attorneys previously stated that he was not responsible for the accident. (Read more about his no contest plea to traffic violations here.)
Other lawsuits
This marks the second lawsuit filed in relation to the crash.
Court records show Dave Willcock, Sr., the father of Devin Willock, is suing UGA's Athletic Association and members of the association.
The lawsuit, filed in Gwinnett County, also names Chandler LeCroy -- the UGA staffer who was driving the vehicle that crashed -- and then-UGA defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who was in a separate car.
What Bowles is seeking
The lawsuit notes that Bowles is seeking reimbursement for over $170,000 worth of medical bills. There is also a mention of unspecified amounts in regard to lost income and diminution in earnings capacity.
From there, the lawsuit goes on to list multiple injuries Bowles allegedly sustained during the crash, including fractured vertebrae and ribs.