Georgia fires football staffer who survived fatal car accident
Georgia has fired former football recruiting staff member Victoria Bowles, who survived the January car accident that killed Bulldogs player Devin Willock and fellow staffer Chandler LeCroy. That decision comes less than a month after she filed a lawsuit against the athletic department and former Georgia football player Jalen Carter, alleging negligence and false claims about the crash.
Georgia said it fired Bowles for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the accident, in a statement obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"Applicable policies require university employees to cooperate with internal investigations," the school's statement said.
"Over the course of several months, Ms. Bowles was asked — on numerous occasions — to speak with our investigators and provide information, and through her attorney, she repeatedly refused to cooperate. As a result, we were ultimately left with no choice but to terminate her employment."
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Georgia placed Bowles on unpaid leave from the athletic department in March, a move that came after placing her on medial leave right after the January crash.
Bowles' attorney believes her firing was retaliation by the school for filing her lawsuit, saying: "Tory, like all other perceived liabilities to the football program, became expendable to UGA, and despite her loyalty and meager salary, has been steamrolled."
The fatal accident took place on Jan. 15, hours after Georgia celebrated winning its second-straight College Football Playoff national championship.
The school claims that LeCroy was racing Carter in a car leased by the university. Bowles and Willock were passengers in that car, as was former Georgia football player Warren McLendon, who also survived the crash.
(AJC)
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