Devin Willock's family lawyers call press conference to discuss legal action
Four days after Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock was killed in a single-car wreck, his parents are scheduled to appear outside an Athens courthouse on Thursday at a press conference called where legal action to be taken will be discussed after their son’s death Sunday in a car crash.
The personal injury firm, Go Big Injury Lawyers, is representing David and Sharlene Willock, according to Brian Stellwag, who handles media relations for the law firm, the Athens Banner-Herald reported. It worked with Devin on a name, image and likeness campaign where he was featured on billboards.
Willock and Georgia recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in a single-car crash on Barnett Shoals Road at about 2:45 a.m. on Sunday. The crash report released by the Athens-Clarke County police cited cited excessive speed as a contributing factor.
Police investigators said the 2021 Ford Expedition, which carried Willock, LeCroy and 2 others, “failed to negotiate a left curve, resulting in the vehicle striking the curb with its front passenger tire and leaving the roadway on the west shoulder.”
The SUV struck a Georgia Power pole and another utility pole, slicing them in half, before it struck a tree on the rear passenger quarter panel. That sent the vehicle spinning in a clockwise direction before it slammed into another tree on the driver’s side — where both LeCroy and Willock were sitting.
Here it comes….
Oy Vey!
Wasn’t wearing a seat belt no case. Period. As a life long Dawg this sucks but what were they both doing in the backseat with no seat belt there’s stuff that’s not being said and the family needs to think about that, because it can get real embarrassing for them.
They weren’t both in the back seat though she was the driver of the vehicle. Where do yall get this stuff from
Obv the driver was driving but reports indicate there was another woman (26y old) in the back seat.
She was also a UGA staff member. More than likely they were getting a courtesy ride because they were not capable of driving and they didn’t want to send a solitary female out to get two large inebriated lineman by herself. Not that they would have done anything, but that’s not the position you put female staff or your players in.
OK but the other female passenger that died was on the back seat with him both not wearing a seat belt the front passengers were the rear passengers were not. The image doesn’t look good, is all I’m saying both females should have been in the front if they were just giving then a ride. Imagine is everything in this day and time.
That’s not what I gathered. One thing we know, the only female who died was the, “driver”,. Wilcock it seems was in the back seat on the drivers side and Lecroy, driving was in the driver’s seat. I can’t imagine how fast they must have been going to slice through the poles and, still don’t know why they had to call them, “Georgia power poles”, but and than slam so hard into the trees.
NO female died that was in the back seat. Only the female driver LeCroy. LeCroy is a female. I’m not sure where they were sitting means anything at all. But Wilcock was sitting right behind the driver on the driver’s side in the back. The driver side of the vehicle was the last place of impact, killing both. The two on the passenger side in the front seat and passenger side in the back seat survived.
gwhite I’m not genius, but I imagine they call them “Georgia Power” poles because Georgia Power owns them and set them.
BillBrocius It’s not important to anything involved in this accident to know man. Zilch. lol Promise.
gwhite713, if “it’s not important to anything” then why did YOU feel compelled to mention it?
It is not the law in Georgia that backseat passengers have to wear a seatbelt; only if under 18 years old.
They were both sitting on the drivers side. That might explain why he did not have his seatbelt on.
This shouldn’t have to be said because the accusation was crass but she was driving and he was in the rear driver’s side seat. Not everything has to have more to it sometimes bad stuff just happens.
A famous cfb player and a pretty gal who’s a big fan…hardly crass. That’s college and it merits as much consideration as alcohol or any other contributing factors.
She wasn’t a fan…she was UGA recruiting staff.
rxmaster…Used “fan” there to ack that even as a staffer she prob likes fball and fball players, especially one heading to the NFL…Enough to ride in a back seat w/o seatbelt at 2:45a…Not saying there definitely was or wasnt anything more, just that it warrants consideration.
So she was driving from the back seat, terry?
How would that explain why he didn’t have a seatbelt on ? She was driving and he was right behind her in the back seat so he should have a seat belt on
He was in the back seat with a 26y old woman after a long night of celebration…If ever there were a time for them not to wear seatbelts, that’d be it.
What exactly is the legal action they are taking; are they gonna sue the girl who died in the accident?
Im sure they are going to try to sue the University and i doubt they win.
Good question. Only speculation, but if an employee from UGA was driving players back from a celebration or a party, then they will push for wrongful death. Interesting that it was reported that he was not wearing a seat belt.
Probably pushing for an out of court settlement.
I’m sure they’re going to sue the driver’s insurance, and they will claim they have no responsibility since she was speeding.
Hard for an Ins Co to disclaim for speeding, unless it was done during a contest of speed.
Nearly every accident is “at fault”. That doesn’t protect an insurance from paying. They chose to insure the policyholder. With that comes the risk they speed and injure someone. Insurance is absolutely on the hook.
However, insurance is not where the big bucks are because there are limits to the insurance’s liability based on the policyholder’s plan. Anything settled above that liability falls to the policyholder themselves (maybe she had an umbrella plan-then they might go after her Umbrella policy)…but, absent that, or LeCroy being independently wealthy, where the money is resides in the UGA/State of Georgia bank account.
Most auto insurance booklets include exclusions for contests of speed. No rumor that they were side by side with another speeding car though…Two insurance companies could be on the hook, vehicle owner’s and UGA’s. Most business policies extend to employees’ operation of non company owned vehicles.
They will sue the drivers insurance company. She is at fault under the law. The insurance will pay its limits. I’m sure they will include the university in the suit.
I am no legal expert, but hiring a personal injury firm (much less one named (Go big injury lawyers) for a criminal defense case doesn’t seem like a wise decision.
Apologies. Got this case confused with the bama case. It’s a shame that events has transpired that is even possible.
Kid’s not even buried yet and they’re already talking about suing. Who fault was it that he didn’t have his seat belt on?
I saw several people say it was his fault because no seat belt. In the state of Georgia only people in the front seats have to wear seat belts.
Incorrect. Every occupant must wear a seatbelt.
You are correct Joe
No, that is actually false. Driver, Front Seat Passengers, and children under 18 in the backseat are required to wear seatbelts in Georgia. Willock was 20, Bowles is 26, so they were not legally required to wear one.
At least look it up before responding…and talk to your representative about changing it.
No, that’s not true. If you’re over the age of 18, you are under no legal obligation to wear a seatbelt in the backseat.
What??? Who told you that?
Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
And O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1
That is NOT true.
GA law requires all motor vehicle occupants, drivers and passengers alike, are required to wear seat belts when the vehicle is being operated on state roadways.
Get your facts straight before opening your mouth or posting comments about things you obviously know nothing about.
To slice through 2 telephone poles in a 6500 lbs car I imagine she was going kinda fast.. she was supposed to be the university solution for a safe ride for their students.. I think they have a case to sue the university. I don’t think they should sue tho.. seems like a low blow unless she was dui or something
Do we even know she was driving as a UGA staffer and not as a friend? Do they have staff drive each player home?
Not an expert but been in education long enough (sitting thru my fair share of educational law PDs) to know that distinction may not matter. There is a standard of care expected to a student that is greater than friend to friend. The fact remains that a school employee was driving during a crash that killed a student. That may be the angle being pursued.
That be my guess NC.. and I think the university would have a restriction on staff members student relationships.. so that leads me to assume she was the designated safe ride . But I’m neither a college grad or law enforcement of any sort so I’m just a guy on the outside looking in going off my own experience in life and the details I read regarding the crash
Yes, staff are available to players if they need rides (suspended license, drunk, etc.)
Go Big Injury Lawyer
that’s right up there with Dewey, Cheatum and Howe
Boy that didn’t take long. Have they even had the funeral yet. The loss is terrible but the optics of moving to a lawsuit this fast goes without saying. Using what sounds like a bunch of ambulance chasers just makes it look that much worse.
Totally agree… there’s no handbook on how a family should handle a tragedy, but man I would think handling the funeral and grieving would be first and foremost. The lawsuit will be there in a month.
Fuzzy, I have been reading through every post because your point is EXACTLY what my first thought was when I read the article. A lawsuit before a funeral? Either these people are money hungry or the law firm wants early exposure as a marketing ploy. But it’s incredibly disrespectful to both of the deceased young folks, especially their own flesh and blood. My GOD! To want to hold a press conference already would be enough for me to tell the law firm no. We’re finding someone else.
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And here we are, Thursday evening and news from the family is they do not intend to sue UGA. Funeral set for Saturday, Jan. 21. And Mr. Wiley of Big As Lawyers and BBQ has shown he was only wanting a marketing gimmick. Maybe he needs to hang out in the local ER like the lawyer did in the John Grisham book, The Rainmaker.
I’m having a hard time figuring out the point of a press conference here, aside from the advertising for Go Big.
I also can’t imagine what I assume is a personal injury mill was the best choice for NIL work.
Interesting to learn the roadway had a curb rather than just an edge of paving because I can imagine the steering wheel being snatched from LeCroy’s hands as soon as that tire touched the curb.
With only a pavement edge, some over-correct and end up in the ditch on the other side of the road.
But regardless, if traveling at a ridiculous rate of speed, it could not end well, and the passengers in the back are fortunate to survive, especially without serious or critical injuries.
Anyhow, I think I need to remind my grown children about what happens when a tire leaves the road, especially at high speeds.
I hope the courts are fair and just to all parties.
Well I see alot of people talking have no clue what they are talking about. In the state of GA u do not have to wear a seat belt in the backseat if you’re 18 or older.
The rear seat passengers survived, regardless of seatbelt laws.
Willock was in the back seat behind the driver. He was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
No, one of the backseat passengers did not survive.
You are an ignorant jackass,TYSAM.
ALL OCCUPANTS riding in or operating a motor vehicle are required by Georgia state law to wear seat belts. Pull your nose out of your Twitter feed long enough to swing by your local PD or GSP Driver Services location.
Walk in and ask them, genius.
Regarding seatbelts, I hated being ordered to wear them but Neil Bortz changed my mind (back in the Eighties).
He pointed out that aircraft pilots were required to wear them and explained the reason.
It wasn’t to prevent you from being vomited out of the vehicle, as in automobiles, rather it was meant to secure your position in the seat such that you may have a fighting chance to maintain control whilst being jostled around like dice in a Yahtzee can.
Sound logic, plus the ejection thing, made me buckle up.
My wife thinks it was her nagging, tho, and that’s okay.
I just feel horribly for their families and the UGA folks… I hope that this doesn’t get ugly. Death is cruel. Especially when it’s young people like this…
Just my two cents worth, while very sad and tragic for everyone involved, having an attorney presser before honoring Devin with his own celebration of life/funeral is distasteful and not a good look. I won’t be donating to the Go Fund Me now because of this action.
Personal injury firms are quite often ambulance chasing flunkies. They operate on dramatics, puffery, bombast, and aggression. I don’t know enough about the particulars and facts of this case to have an opinion about any impending law suits, but I just hope Willock’s family is receiving good advice from this firm and not being led by greedy ambulance chasers.
Well said…The poor family is vulnerable to the accusations of irreverant PI attys. Hope the firm is better than the name suggests.
No seat belt worn. Any lawyer will eat them alive with that. Who are they going to sue, UGA?
A pure money grab by the family. Disgusting. I’m sure Ben Crump will make an appearance.
If we are only guessing here, I’d say the female UGA staffer who was driving, Lecroy was wearing a seatbelt. Seated directly behind her on the driver’s side, more than likely Wilcock was not. This sounds like the speed was so high and considering they cut a few poles in half than into the trees, tells me it wouldn’t have mattered if they were or weren’t wearing seatbelts. Poles and trees at high speeds have a high mortality rate, even with seatbelts. After a certain speed is determined, whether or not they were wearing a seatbelt becomes more a moot point. If alcohol was involved and Lecroy was impaired, yep, big law suit against UGA if this was a courtesy lift and not something private and social. If she was than UGA’s attorneys would need to find a medical event reason for LeCroy to have crashed. Did she get the carrot, if so how many boosters and when and did that have an effect on her motor skills and we’ve seen many examples of the carrot impeding driving ability as well as other issues. Not going to deep into that subject but UGA’s attorney’s most certainly will.
While that may be true, if you’re wearing a seatbelt, you’re at least held in a place that air bags can help lessen the impact. I believe this was a 2021 which should have air bags all over it. But if you’re ejected, chances go way down to survive.
True and I always wear one but not sure it would have made a difference in this case considering the speed. Most car wrap around polls, fewer ever snap one, let alone two, than a hard impact against other trees? The belts will hold you in most of the time, but the impacts here must have been extremely hard.
Tell me you didn’t see this one coming. It’s heartbreaking that two young lives were lost, but some people are just sue happy. The legal sharks are just as bad. There’s one in particular that advertises all over the south with the slogan.. “If you’re in a wreck and need a check, call me!!”
Wrongful death suits are hit and miss. I do also find it strange that they are already hiring representation when the investigation is not yet complete. The investigation is the fact gathering stage. The only thing they know at this time is where everyone was sitting and maybe who was wearing seatbelts.
As a former AD, these are our nightmares. And not the only nightmares, serious injury on the field, serious illness where a student athlete does not recover or fully recover. Parents have dedicated their lives to their children and now they are at college, mostly out of the nest. You are the guardian of much of their environment and hundreds of them can step into harms way somewhere every day and night. Praying for all of them still after all these years and thankful that sometimes they call and say “coach, we’re doing well”. May the biblical wisdom/blessing of the ages govern all these lives, and whoever might read this.
The unprofessional name of the firm fits the boorish behavior of the family. Who didn’t see this coming?
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!
So if you have a job and drink and drive the person that pays you a salary is now responsible for your actions ?
This makes no sense. The only person that was at fault was the driver, it appears. Sorrow for the tragedy has no bering on a law suit.
I just feel horribly for their families and the UGA folks… I hope that this doesn’t get ugly. Death is cruel. Especially when it’s young people like this…