I can understand the French origin and any reliance on using it in some odd manner, but it isn’t the standard definition used by many dictionary sources of notability, if at all, certainly not one used in common media.
It's odd to my ear and yours, but it's not dangerous to faith or morals. Both words come from things from things that happen to a cart (Latin carrus). In American usage over time, careen (turning sideways in a hapless manner) started to encompass the meaning of career (speeding madly and out of control).