Less than a month after she filed a complaint against the school’s athletic association, the University of Georgia fired the football recruiting staff member who survived the collision in January that killed player Devin Willock and another recruiting crew member.
Victoria “Tori” Bowles was fired from the school, according to a statement the released, for her refusal to assist with an internal inquiry into the collision. Her lawyers contend that she is the target of reprisals for bringing the action, in which Jalen Carter, a former Georgia athlete and first-round selection in the NFL draft, is also named.
The termination of Bowles was originally reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Just hours after a parade commemorating Georgia’s second consecutive national championship, on January 15, a crash claimed the lives of Chandler LeCroy, 24, and Willock, 20, the driver of a Ford Expedition.
LeCroy, according to the police, was racing Carter at about 104 mph with a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit when the SUV veered off the road, colliding with two utility poles, a tree, and then another tree on the driver’s side, where LeCroy and Willock were seated.
Warren McClendon, another player for Georgia, only suffered minor wounds. However, according to Bowles’ claim, she suffered severe injuries while sitting in the backseat next to Willock, including rib and lumbar fractures, a spinal cord damage, and liver and kidney lacerations. She also suffered from excruciating eye pain and neurological impairment from a closed head injury.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages in addition to general damages of at least $171,595 and names LeCroy’s estate as a defendant.
