Jalen Carter: NFL hopeful turns himself in to police

Jalen Carter, a University of Georgia football star, received an arrest warrant in connection to a fatal car crash.

A star college football player hotly tipped for the NFL has turned himself in to police after a car crash that left two dead, including one of his teammates.

Jalen Carter, 21, is facing charges for reckless driving and racing for the 15 January crash.

On Twitter, Mr Carter released a statement saying he expects to be "fully exonerated".

He has been widely projected to be a top-five NFL Draft pick next month.

Being chosen virtually guarantees footballers becoming overnight millionaires.

Police say Mr Carter, a defensive tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs, was behind the wheel of a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk in a high-speed race that ended in the deaths of Chandler LeCroy, 24, the team's recruiting analyst, and Devin Willock, 20, Mr Carter's teammate.

Ms LeCroy was driving a Ford Expedition at speeds exceeding 100mph (160km/h). Toxicology reports showed that she had a blood alcohol concentration of more than double the legal limit.

Two other members of the Georgia football team were injured in the accident, which police had initially thought involved only one vehicle.

"The evidence demonstrated that both vehicles switched between lanes, drove in the centre turn lane, drove in opposite lanes of travel, overtook other motorists, and drove at high rates of speed, in an apparent attempt to outdistance each other," the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a statement.

Mr Carter received the arrest warrant notification on Wednesday while in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the NFL scouting combine, an annual event that acts as an official audition for the best college football players.

It precedes the NFL Draft, where young athletes hope to make their football dreams come true and where contracts amounting to tens of millions of dollars hang in the balance.

Jail records show that he turned himself into the Athens-Clarke County Jail at 23:33 local time (04:33 GMT) before being released less than 20 minutes later. Both of the charges he faces are misdemeanours, which are only subject to fines or short stints in jail of a year or less.

He had earlier said media reports had contained "inaccurate information" about the crash, without specifying details.

When the incident first came to light, University of Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart said that "the charges...are deeply concerning, especially as we are still struggling to cope with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community".

The accident occurred six days after Georgia won their second consecutive national college football championship, and hours after a parade celebrating that victory.