Marlon King Jailed For Dangerous Driving

The former Sheffield United striker receives 18 months in prison for causing a crash that left two men needing hospital treatment.

Former Premier League footballer Marlon King has been jailed for 18 months and banned from driving for three years for driving dangerously. The ex-Sheffield United striker was involved in a crash in April 2013 that left two motorists needing hospital treatment. He had pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving at Nottingham Crown Court in March. The court heard that King committed the offence at around 3pm on April 26 - his 33rd birthday - while driving a white 2011 Porsche Panamera. At the time, he was eating an ice cream he had bought from a McDonalds just moments before. King weaved in and out of traffic before going past Martin Beck on the inside. The court was told he believed Mr Beck was travelling too slowly in the outside lane. The former footballer slammed on his brakes in frustration, forcing Mr Beck to perform an emergency stop in his black VW Polo. As Mr Beck came to a halt, another driver in a silver Vauxhall Astra who had pulled out behind him, collided with the stationary Polo. The Astra forced the Polo into the back of King's Porsche. Mr Beck had to be cut out of his car and airlifted to hospital after the collision on the A46 at Winthorpe near Newark, Nottinghamshire. He spent three weeks in hospital and needed surgery for a fractured and dislocated forearm. Mark Bush, who was travelling in the Astra, was also taken to hospital for cuts and bruises. The court heard that King drove away from the scene but was flagged down by another motorist who feared Mr Beck had been killed by the collision. King later blamed Mr Beck for the collision. Recorder Paul Mann QC, who sentenced King said: "I do not regard your case as merely impulsive or silly behaviour. "It was aggressive. It was arrogant. "You were so pumped up with road rage, you had to start accusing him of being to blame for these collisions." King was previously a Premier League player with Watford, Wigan Athletic, Hull City and Middlesbrough.