Drunk mother ‘crashed car with toddler in back’

A MOTHER-OF-ONE was found slumped drunk over the wheel of her crashed car with an open can beside her and her toddler crying and sweating in the back seat, a court heard. Investigating gardaí at the scene in west Dublin found the accused woman (34) smelling of alcohol and slurring her speech while her two-year-old child was “highly distressed”. The woman tested more than four times the drink-driving limit. She is facing jury trial after Judge David McHugh decided that the case was too serious to be dealt with at district court level. He adjourned the case at Blanchardstown District Court. The accused is charged with being drunk in charge of a child under the age of seven, as well as being drunk in charge of a vehicle. She has not yet entered pleas. The offences are alleged to have happened at Nangor Road, Clondalkin, at 3.30pm on June 24 last. Garda Ciaran Murray said he was on patrol when he saw a Seat Leon at the side of the road. It appeared to be crashed and there was smoke coming from the engine, he said. He found the accused slouched over the steering wheel with an open “alcoholic beverage can” beside her. Her speech was slurred when she was spoken to and there was a smell of alcohol coming from her, he said. There was a two-year-old child in the back seat, highly distressed. The accused was brought to a west Dublin garda station where a blood sample she provided had a reading of 219mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Judge McHugh refused jurisdiction and adjourned the case for the DPP “to consider the situation”. Defence solicitor Valerie Buckley applied for free legal aid and the judge said he would “revisit” the issue of legal aid on another date.