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The University of Georgia has fired recruiting staffer Victoria Bowles, the individual who survived a car crash in January that killed Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy, just under a month after she filed a lawsuit against the university's athletic association.
Bowles was dismissed because she “refused to cooperate with an internal investigation into the crash,” according to the Associated Press.
“Applicable policies require university employees to cooperate with internal investigations,” the athletic association said in a statement on Monday. “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.”
The school said it wished Bowles well in her recovery, but had no choice but to fire her for lack of cooperation. Her attorneys claim she is being retaliated against for filing the lawsuit, which also named former Georgia player Jalen Carter, per AP.
“The lawsuit, filed in state court in Gwinnett County on Wednesday by Bowles, accuses the UGA athletic association of negligence and contradicts public statements by Bulldogs football coach Kirby Smart and other officials, who have claimed that recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy shouldn't have been driving the leased SUV when it left the road and struck trees and utility poles,” wrote ESPN's Mark Schlabach in July.
The Jan. 15 crash occurred just hours following a parade that celebrated Georgia's second straight national championship. It killed the 20-year-old Devin Willock and 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy.
Bowles' attorney Rob Buck said that the university has engaged in a “campaign of intimidation” against her, whose job paid less than $12,000 a year, per AP.
“Tory, like all other perceived liabilities to the football program, became expendable to UGA, and despite her loyalty and meager salary, has been steamrolled,” he said.
Victoria Bowles sustained serious injuries in the crash, including lumbar and rib fractures, a spinal cord injury and lacerations to the kidney and liver, according to her lawsuit. She also sustained a closed head injury with neurological damage and severe eye pain, per AP.
