Drunk van driver 'tried to play mental health card' after crash

A drunk driver who downed seven pints of lager and five shots of tequila left another motorist with life-changing injuries.

Joseph Dearden, 27, escaped his smashed van and tried to flee the scene but was detained by residents who witnessed the crash.

He was so drunk when police arrested him he was captured on body-cam footage slurring to the cops: "All I have to do is play the mental health card."

Now the ''callous and cowardly' driver, from Bolton, has been jailed following the crash which left a number of smashed up cars and debris strewn all over a residential street.

The incident 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.

What followed was a three-hour and 40 minute bender in which the subsequent police investigation found he downed seven pints of lager and five shots of tequila.

CCTV showed Dearden staggering out of the pub, towards the front door and 'acting in a drunken and erratic manner', according to police.

He was captured swaying and 'staggering backwards and forwards' clearly unsteady on his feet.

He was so drunk he grabbed at items round him to maintain upright. Despite his condition, he got behind the wheel of his van.

He drove out of the pub away from the pub along Darwen Road where, at speed and on the wrong side of the road, he collided with parked vehicles and smashed head-on into another and then careered into a Range Rover.

The head-on smash left the 25-year-old driver of the car with life-changing injuries, police have revealed.

On impact, Dearden hit his head on the windscreen of his van, causing a head injury. The police mugshot taken afterwards reveals the damage caused to his face.

Witnesses reported that Dearden became increasingly aggressive and then tried to flee the scene.

Dearden, of Hathaway Drive in Bolton, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drink.

After the hearing, Sergeant Antony Hannon, of GMP’s Road Policing Unit based in Eccles, said: "Firstly, I must thank the victim for being strong throughout the entire investigation alongside multiple surgeries."

"I must also thank their family for supporting them through it."

"Dearden’s reckless actions that night left the victim, a 25-year-old man, with serious life-changing injuries. His behaviour on the night in trying to flee the scene after consuming alcohol all night was cowardly.

"Dearden has never shown any remorse or apologised to the victim and his disregard for the victim and his actions is callous.

"I must thank the witnesses who detained Dearden at the scene and assisted with the extensive investigation that has been carried out.

"I hope today’s sentencing will give some confidence to the family going forward."

Want more on the issues affecting the North? Our podcast, From the North answers the questions that matter to our region.