Man (43) who 'drove like a maniac' around Dublin is jailed

Isabel Hayes

A man who drove "like a maniac" around Dublin while under the influence of a variety of illicit substances has been jailed for 15 months.

A concerned passerby thought James Colton, 43,  was dead when she came across him passed out in the driver's seat of his car in Crumlin at 8.40 am in September 2022.

However, shortly after she roused him out of concern for his health, Colton took off in his car at speed and drove "like a maniac", Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday.

He drove at high speed around the areas of Crumlin and Sundrive before eventually crashing into a van, Joe Mulrean BL, prosecuting, told the court.

Colton, of Fortunestown Close, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving, one count of driving without a licence, one count of criminal damage, and one count of failing to report a traffic incident on September 29th, 2022. He has 76 previous convictions and was disqualified from driving at the time of the incident.

The court heard Colton, who has a lengthy addiction history, was under the influence of intoxicants on the morning in question. A woman who was on her way shopping noticed he was passed out in his parked car and that he looked extremely white.

She saw there were vodka bottles in the car and that Colton seemed out of it. When she roused him, Colton initially got out of his car before he returned to it and took off at speed. The woman then contacted gardaí to alert them.

The court heard that Colton drove at speeds in excess of 100 km/h around the residential area, that he drove on the wrong side of the road and mounted the kerb. He narrowly missed knocking down a cyclist, the court heard.

The incident ended when Colton crashed into a parked van, causing €11,150 of damage to it, before walking away from the scene. He was arrested a short time later.

John Griffin BL, defending, said his client has a long-standing drug addiction.

Sentencing Colton on Tuesday, Judge Martin Nolan said Colton had been taking intoxicants and appeared dead to the passerby on the day in question. "It seems he wasn't dead and he sprang to life and drove off in his car in a dangerous and reckless way," the judge said.

Taking into account mitigating factors, the judge noted Colton was cooperative with gardaí and entered guilty pleas. He sentenced him to 15 months' imprisonment and disqualified him from driving for a period of five years.