Michigan Man Was on Snapchat and YouTube Minutes Before 2023 Crash That Killed Mom, Critically Injured Daughter

A man from Michigan has pleaded guilty to causing a deadly crash in 2023 after authorities said he was on his phone and distracted while driving. The fatal crash killed a mother and left her daughter with serious, life-threatening injuries.

The victim’s family, from central Indiana, is now preparing to face the man who caused the deadly accident. The man responsible for the fatal crash is from Michigan and is identified as Gavin Mosley, according to court documents.

Court documents allege that Mosley was on Snapchat and YouTube in the minutes leading up to the crash. Mosley allegedly sent 28 messages and took 15 Snapchat and YouTube videos minutes before the crash, according to court documents. The incident left a mother, identified as Sara Davis, dead and her daughter, identified as Rachel Davis, in the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The crash was so severe that it triggered a five-car pile-up. The collision occurred on October 5, 2023, along I-465 on the northwest side of Indianapolis, Indiana. Data from Mosley’s vehicle showed he was going at a speed of 65 miles per hour until 0.4 secs before the collision.

Mosley, who is 26 years old, is pleading guilty to felony charges of reckless homicide. The maximum penalty for the charges he is facing is three years.

“But no matter how long the judge decides they will not bring her mother, my wife, a part of the community back,” Kelley Davis, the husband of the victim, who was also inside the car, said.

"We were at a dead stop at a construction site. It was 86 Street, and the construction has been there for 5 years. We were aware of it, and we were just sitting there, you know, waiting for it to get moving again. We were at a dead stop, and he was going 70 miles per hour. We were hit from the rare, " Kelly Davis said.

The impact triggered a multi-car chain reaction crash, damaging both the rear and front of the victim's vehicle. The victim's car was a Honda. As a result of the crash, the interstate was shut down.

"I turned around, and Sara was hugging Rachel," Kelly said. "She died immediately from whiplash."

Sara Davis was a longtime nurse at the Methodist Hospital and a school nurse at North Central High School. She was also a devoted mother to Alex and Rachel. "She was a loving mother more than anything," Kelly Davis said.

Rachel Davis, the daughter of the victim, survived the crash but was critically injured. "Rachel was inches away from death," Kelly added. Rachel had to spend a month in the hospital recovering from broken vertebrae and a traumatic brain injury. “I had several fractured ribs, and my lungs were collapsed as well,” Kelly Davis said.

Mosley is due in court on April 23 for his sentence hearing. Sara Davis’s family said the hardest part was living with the loss and not getting a chance to say goodbye.