Charges filed in crash that cost Columbus basketball player his legs

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A semi-professional basketball player who was seriously injured by a driver who police said was under the influence of alcohol and/or marijuana is a little closer to getting justice.

A Franklin County grand jury on Tuesday indicted Gail Kimberly Smith, 64, for aggravated vehicular assault and operating a vehicle under impairment.

The charges are connected to a crash that happened in May 2021.

A.J. Davis, who played for the semi-professional basketball team the Columbus Condors, had gotten out of his car, getting food and drink out of his trunk for a homeless man. That is when, according to Columbus police, Smith allegedly crashed into him on an exit ramp at I-70 and Hamilton Road.

The crash happened three days after Davis scored 29 points in a game. The night of the crash, doctors amputated his legs.

Davis was on his way to the Columbus Fire Academy Tuesday afternoon to watch some friends play basketball when NBC4 talked to him about the indictment.

“It was in the forefront, foresight of my mind, of wanting to know what was happening to her and what the status was, and I just got to the point where I was like, ‘I’m kind of over it and whatever happens and the outcome is, it’s meant to be,’” Davis said. “So, once I did that and receiving that call today lifted the weight off my shoulders.”

Davis played basketball at Linden McKinley High School, the University of Wyoming, and James Madison University before playing professionally overseas.

His daughter, who was in the car that night and able to call her mother, turns eight next week.

There is no information on an arrest warrant or court date for Smith, who has been without charges for more than two years.