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.
His lawyer, Jeff Ostrow, said the swimmer has now acknowledged he has an alcohol problem and plans to get treatment.