A driver who caused a head-on smash while he was so drunk that he was unable to speak thanked a "higher power" after being spared prison.
Neil Bason downed pint after pint while watching England take on France in the pub before getting behind the wheel and driving the wrong way around a roundabout. The former carer then walked away from the scene after the crash and later claimed that an imaginary friend had been the driver.
Despite being told that he was lucky he had "not seriously injured or killed" other innocent road users, he walked free from court this week. Around two hours later, Bason said in a Facebook post accompanied by a smiley face emoji: "Someone definitely looking down on me today from a higher power."
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Liverpool Crown Court heard that victim Declan Preston was driving his Ford Mondeo on Southport Road at around 10.30pm on December 10 last year. Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, described how he entered the junction with Scarisbrick New Road to be faced with the glare of the headlights of an oncoming Ford Fiesta which was travelling anti-clockwise on the roundabout.
He "slammed on his brakes" but was unable to avoid the collision. Mr Preston was left sat in his car "shaking" before getting out and asking Bason, the driver of the other vehicle, "what the hell he was doing" and adding: "You must be drunk."
Mr Blasbery said that the defendant "couldn't even speak" and got back into his car briefly before walking away from the scene. A member of the public who had assisted the complainant at the scene then spotted him at the nearby Esso patrol station, and the police attended the garage.
Bason, of Norfolk Place in Widnes, told officers that although his vehicle had been involved in the accident he had not been the driver. He failed an initial breath test, and once in custody following his arrest was still more than twice the legal limit.
Under interview, the 37-year-old stated that he had been in the Blue Anchor pub in Southport with his partner and had consumed "four or five" pints of lager while watching a football match on the television – this having been the evening that England were knocked out of the World Cup by France. Bason claimed that he had then asked an unnamed friend to drive him home to Widnes, and that he had been the front seat passenger at the time of the crash.
He has two previous convictions for five offences, including being banned from the roads by magistrates only four days after the incident for a separate drink driving charge dating back to June 2022. Andrew McInnes, defending, told the court: "It is a serious incident, and the defendant acknowledges that things could have been far more serious given the state he was in and the manoeuvre undertaken.
"The defendant was in a particularly difficult period, having been out of trouble for many years and employed in the care system. His mother became seriously ill and he gave up his job to assist her.
"He found it very difficult and he began to drink to excess and use cocaine. Things reached a head in December. He wasn't with a friend. That was a lie.
"He took the decision to drive. He is lucky that no one was seriously injured, particularly the driver of the other vehicle.
"It seems to have been something of a watershed for him. He has stopped drinking and has abstained from drugs for a period of nine months since the incident.
"His mental health has improved as a consequence, and he has found employment in an amusement arcade in Southport. He has applied for another job in the care sector.
"Sadly, his mother passed away in June this year. Perhaps this is one of those cases where the fear of custody hanging over him is enough to avoid repeat offending."
Bason admitted dangerous driving and drink driving. He was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for two years, a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days, a 120-day alcohol abstinence requirement and a two-year driving ban on Wednesday.
Sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: "It is only through good luck that somebody was not seriously injured or killed. At the time, I accept that you were under a lot of stress given your personal circumstances and I accept that you have now made efforts to address your alcohol problem."
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