Former jockey Fearghal Davis jailed after causing crash while texting

Grade 1-winning jump jockey Fearghal Davis has received a 34-month jail sentence and four-year driving ban after causing a crash while texting that resulted in an elderly couple suffering life-changing injuries.

Davis, 32, who was most recently working as a groom for David O'Meara, won the rearranged Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow in January 2011 on Marsh Warbler, the highlight of a career that yielded 99 winners in Britain and Ireland across 12 seasons.

Marsh Warbler was trained by Brian Ellison, for whom Davis also won a Listed chase at Wetherby on Neptune Equester and Prelude Hurdle at Market Rasen on Palomar.

Watch the replay of Marsh Warbler's Finale Juvenile Hurdle win here

On August 10, 2017, according to a report of the York Crown Court proceedings on Thursday by The Scarborough News, Davis sped around a blind bend while texting, resulting in a head-on crash.

He had been drinking, although there was no evidence he was over the limit, before he got behind the wheel and was looking down at his mobile when the crash happened on a single-track road in Gate Helmsley, North Yorkshire.

William Savory, 77, and his 76-year-old wife Rosemary had slowed down at the bend as a precaution but Davis’s car came straight at them. Davis then left the scene after phoning a friend.

Mr Savory suffered five broken ribs and extensive bruising, and was later readmitted to hospital due to concerns about his memory and cognitive functions. He now receives treatment for vascular dementia.

His wife suffered a broken leg and neck, and needed hip-replacement surgery. She also suffered nerve damage to her eye, which led to blurred vision.

Davis, who was arrested at his home in Malton the day after the crash, claimed he had no recollection of it because of recurrent memory loss following a riding accident when he was 18.

He ultimately admitted two counts of causing serious injury through dangerous driving.

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