Ryan Lochte Car Crash 911 Call, 'I Rear-Ended the People In Front of Me'

Ryan Lochte called 911 on himself to report a late-night car crash in which he slammed his Porsche into another car ... and TMZ Sports has the recording.

"Um, yeah ... I would like to ummm, yeah ... we just got in an accident," the Olympic swimmer told the operator.

"I rear-ended the people in front of me."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Lochte was driving in Gainesville, FL Thursday at around 9:45 PM when he rear-ended a car ... hours after he drunkenly kicked in a door at a hotel in Newport Beach.

During the call, Lochte initially tells the operator he doesn't think anyone is injured -- but then changes his answer a few times. He's unsure.

But, we know the driver of the car Lochte hit was taken by ambulance to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Lochte was okay and cited for "careless driving." There's no mention of alcohol in the police report.

Lochte had just flown to Florida after the booze-fueled incident in Newport Beach, CA.