Nearly two years to the day after a tragic early morning crash on Jan. 15, 2023, killed University of Georgia football player Devin Willock and recruiting analysis Chandler LeCroy, Willock’s family has filed a lawsuit against the Georgia Board of Regents seeking $2 million for the death of their son.
The complaint, filed in an Athens court on Wednesday, alleges the university negligently entrusted LeCroy with the rented Ford Expedition she was driving at the time of the crash. The SUV was one of several leased by the University of Georgia Athletic Association to ferry players, recruits and their families the weekend of the football national championship celebration.
LeCroy and the passengers in the SUV — UGA football player Warren McClendon, Willock and UGA recruiter Victoria “Tory” Bowles — had left a strip club in downtown Athens and were on their way to Waffle House when LeCroy lost control of the vehicle and crashed on Barnett Shoals Road. LeCroy had a blood-alcohol level of 0.197, more than twice the legal limit, according to a police investigation.
The Willock family’s attorney, Atlanta-based Terry Jackson, and a spokesperson for the Georgia Board of Regents did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is yet another legal front to open following the accident. Willock’s family has been in litigation with the University of Georgia Athletic Association, LeCroy’s estate and former UGA football player Jalen Carter, among others, since the summer of 2023.
Carter was arrested in March 2023 and charged with two misdemeanors after an investigation determined he was racing LeCroy prior to the crash. He pleaded no contest and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and complete 12 months of community service. Carter is now a star in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Attorneys for both Carter and LeCroy’s estate have denied liability.
Bowles, who suffered severe injuries in the crash, recently settled a lawsuit with the athletic association for a reported $1.5 million. Bowles remains in litigation with Carter and LeCroy’s estate.
Two years after the crash, the fatal accident still hangs over a program that continues to face persistent speeding and traffic violations by players. UGA football players and staff have been involved in at least two dozen incidents and arrests related to speeding, reckless driving and driving under the influence since the crash.
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