A binman who caused over €175,000 worth of damage when he “played dodgems” with four bin lorries in the early hours of the morning has avoided jail with a suspended sentence.
Marian Calderas (39) was working at Key Waste Management Ltd on the Greenhills Road in Tallaght, Dublin 12, on January 24th, 2023 when his colleagues realised he was drunk.
Calderas, with an address at Fenton Green, Church Street, Kilcock, Co Kildare, had started working for the company some six weeks earlier.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Calderas had been collecting refuse bins and putting them into bin lorries when his colleagues realised that the plastic bottle he was drinking from contained alcohol.
His colleagues collected him at around midnight and brought him into the canteen on the Greenhills Road for his own safety, the court heard.
Calderas was left unattended in the canteen and slept for a time before CCTV showed him at 2:25am, using a code to gain access to a room with keys to bin lorries.
He got into a 2017-registered bin truck and crashed it into three other bin lorries, which was captured on CCTV.
Calderas caused more than €87,000 of damage to one truck, over €38,000 to another and about €49,000 to a third, bringing the total cost of the damage to €175,998.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal damage and was given a sentence of three years, which was suspended in full.
'Besotted state'
Judge Martin Nolan ordered Calderas to hand over the sum of €5,000 for transferral to the company immediately, with a further sum of €7,250 to be collected and transferred within the next year.
Judge Nolan had heard evidence on Wednesday but adjourned the matter overnight, stating he did not know how to deal with Calderas and had consulted with several colleagues.
In his ruling on Thursday, the judge said Calderas was “totally intoxicated” and in a “besotted state” when he drove a bin lorry very recklessly, causing huge damage.
“It’s hard to get into his mind and establish what he was trying to accomplish, but he must have entertained himself driving around like the bumpers and crashing into things,” Judge Nolan said.
Garda Amy Murphy told Patrick Jackson BL, prosecuting, that Key Waste paid €150,000 of the repair cost themselves as they were very concerned as to how it might affect their premium if they claimed.
The company remains at a loss of €150,000, and is still waiting to see what way their premium will be affected.
Gda Murphy said CCTV from the incident showed Calderas being thrown from one part of the cab to the other as the bin lorry collided with the other trucks.
He was seen leaving the premises at about 3.30am.
Calderas was arrested two weeks later, answered all questions and made admissions, the court heard. He was apologetic and remorseful and became upset at various times during interviews.
Gross misconduct
Calderas, who had begun working with Key Waste on December 5th, 2022, was dismissed for gross misconduct.
He has no previous convictions in this jurisdiction or in his country of origin, Romania.
When Judge Nolan asked Garda Murphy if Calderas had offered any explanation for his actions, she replied that it was to do with alcohol.
“Madness overtook him. He played dodgem cars and did a huge amount of damage,” Judge Nolan said, adding that it could have been far more serious if anyone had been in the vehicles.
Gda Murphy agreed with counsel for the defence that Calderas was unlikely to reoffend and had not come to any garda attention since the incident.
The court heard Calderas is now working as a general operative and earning €500 a week.
Character references were handed in from his partner, his church and from Pavee Point, as Calderas is a member of the Roma community.
Judge Nolan said if the injured party does not wish to accept the sum of €12,250, it should be given to a local charity of the company’s choice.
“Hopefully this fine will remind him not to do this again. Hopefully he’ll stay away from alcohol,” the judge concluded.
