Drink-driver, 27, who boasted to police 'all I need to do is play the mental ... trends now
View
comments
A 27-year-old drink driver who boasted to police 'all I need to do is play the mental health card' after he crashed his van leaving a 25-year-old man with 'life-changing' injuries has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Joseph Dearden downed seven pints of lager and five shots of tequila at a pub before he got into his company van and crashed into a car driver while on the wrong side of the road.
He managed to get out of his smashed van and attempted to flee the scene only to be detained by shocked residents who came out and saw a scene of carnage.
Dearden was so drunk when police arrested him he was captured on body-cam footage slurring to officers: 'All I have to is play the mental health card.'
Now the 'callous and cowardly' driver, from Bolton, has been jailed following the crash which left a string of smashed-up cars and debris strewn all over a residential street.
Joseph Dearden downed seven pints of lager and five shots of tequila at a pub before he got into his company van and crashed into the other driver while on the wrong side of the road
The head-on smash left the 25-year-old driver of the car with life-changing injuries
Dearden was so drunk when police arrested him he was captured on body-cam footage slurring to officers: 'All I have to is play the mental health card'
He managed to get out of his smashed van and attempted to flee the scene only to be detained by shocked residents who came out and saw a scene of carnage
The drama began when Dearden drove in his company-owned Renault Trafic van to Nook & Cranny pub on Darwen Road in the Bromley Cross area of Bolton at 6.33pm on Friday, August 13, 2021.
Once
