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01st Feb 2016

Drunk Dublin man escapes with life after falling asleep on train tracks

Colm Boohig

Irish Rail

Eric Rogan fell asleep on a train track when walking home drunk.

A 22-year-old man was almost killed after passing out on the tracks between Rush and Lusk railway station in North County Dublin at 12.20am.

According to the Heralddisaster was only averted because the train driver spotted Eric Rogan, who was on a night out with friends and walked on the tracks as a shortcut home, asleep on the tracks in time to apply the emergency break.

The incident occurred on October 9 last, with Rogan since pleading guilty to trespassing on Iarnroid Eireann’s railway line.

The Rush native, who is studying to be a stonemason and has no prior convictions, has been ordered to pay €150 to The Samaritans which, if paid by the end of March, will allow the Probation Act to apply.

Judge McNamara, who has presided over the case, said:

“This was a very dangerous thing to do and could have caused a major incident, never mind you being killed.”

Meanhwhile, Garda Sergeant Tony Tighe, who gave evidence in the case, took time to praise the train driver, saying:

“The driver of the train travelling northbound was vigilant and spotted the defendant in time.”