Davy McCall (second from left), with Sean Kelly and others involved with SportActive
|
A 27 year old Belfast resident was yesterday found guilty of causing the death by dangerous driving of former international cyclist Davy McCall.
On August 12th 2008, McCall was hit by a Peugeot 308 driven by Michael Gerard Groome. He was taking part in an interclub race near Nutt’s Corner when the accident occurred.
Groome was rushing to the airport and was overtaking another vehicle at the moment of the collision. McCall had deviated slightly from his path due to a dog running onto the course, and Groome – who was accused of speeding – hit him.
The jury was told that he was doing between 40 to 50 miles per hour at the time.
He denied the charge of dangerous driving but was convicted yesterday by the jury of ten men and two women, who reached a majority verdict.
Following the decision, the court was told that he had a number of previous motoring convictions. This was not permitted to be admitted as part of the evidence presented in the trial.
He will be sentenced on March 25th and has been granted bail until then. Controversially, the judge has allowed him to continue driving until that point, saying that “his business interests may be impeded”. Needless to say, that decision is likely to lead to some very mixed feelings.
McCall: long history in cycling
Davy McCall was involved in the sport for many years, having represented Northern Ireland and Ireland in numerous international competitions, including the 1986, 1990 and 1998 Commonwealth Games.
The Maryland Wheelers competitor took 32 Irish and Ulster road championship medals over 18 years and, following his retirement from international racing, served as an Executive of the Ulster Cycling Federation (Cycling Ulster) for several years. He was both a coach and a commissaire, and was a core part of Sportactive cycling and walking holidays. He also had links to the Braveheart Fund, which raises funds to help young riders.
We at Irishcycling had regular dealings with him and found him to be both warm and helpful, and also someone who was very passionate about the sport. As was the case for many throughout cycling on this island, the news of his death at 46 years of age was a big shock.
Cycling Ulster Chairman Tommy Lamb paid tribute to him yesterday. “Davy was a legend in Irish cycling,” he said.
“He was a top international rider who represented both Northern Ireland and Ireland on the world stage. Not only was he a top sporting star but he was also a very down to earth person, easily approachable and willing to pass on his knowledge and skills to a new generation of racing cyclists. Many top athletes leave their sport when they retire but David was passionate about cycling and continued to race at a local level with his Lisburn-based Maryland Wheelers club. Not only that, but he also qualified as a commissaire and gave freely of his time in helping to organise races throughout the country.
“I knew Davy for almost 30 years and he was a perfect gentleman and a role model for all aspiring athletes. He had time for everyone from the complete novice right through to our professional riders.”
Lamb pointed out that this week the David McCall Cycling Foundation announced three major awards. “They will be supporting two Womens Training Camps in the near future and will also be the main sponsor for the Cycling Ulster team in this years international Tour of the North cycle race at Easter,” he wrote.
“Last year they supported a team in the Tour of Malta and are currently in negotiations regarding a major financial boost to help promote youth racing in the country.”
McCall’s daughter Emma is part of the foundation.
He also stated that Cycling Ulster has just established an ad hoc Safety Committee to raise awareness about speed on the roads and the rights of all road users including cyclists. “There have been five serious accidents in the North Down area alone in the past month with one member of the Curran Racing team still in a serious condition following a collision with a lorry just last week,” he stated.