Four and a half years after making his final appearance for Plymouth Argyle, Luke McCormick was back in the public gaze on a football field on Saturday.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper conceded three goals on his debut for Truro City, who signed the former Pilgrim late last week on a non-contract no-wages basis. He played in this weekend's 3-2 FA Carlsberg Trophy third qualifying round defeat away to Farnborough.
A month after his last match for Argyle, at Wolverhampton Wanderers in May 2008, McCormick's Range Rover was involved in a crash on the M6 motorway in Staffordshire. The accident led to the deaths of two children, Arron and Ben Peak.
The brothers were in a Toyota, driven by their father, which collided with McCormick's car. McCormick admitted causing their deaths and driving with excess alcohol, and was jailed in October 2008 for seven years and four months. He had served half of that sentence when he was released in June this year.
McCormick's appearance for Truro is unlikely to be a one-off. Another former Argyle player, Tim Sandercombe, is City's regular 'keeper, and he is not expected to return from a knee injury until the end of this month.
Truro manager Lee Hodges, who played alongside McCormick for Argyle, has declined to comment on the addition to his squad, but two other ex-Plymouth players on the club's books made their views known via Twitter.
On Saturday morning, striker Stewart Yetton wrote: "Great news that Luke is playing in goal for us today," while, after the game, midfield player Joe Broad wrote: "Great to see my pal Luke play, great 'keeper and great lad. Everyone deserves a second chance!"
