Drinking and driving is serious, no matter what type of vehicle you’re driving.
A man in Sumter County, Florida, is proof of that.
The man, 45, was arrested recently on a drunk driving charge as he sat in a Club Car golf cart in the middle of the road in The Villages community in Lady Lake. An area resident had reported the man to the local sheriff’s office around 7:30 one evening.
The woman remained on the scene and told the responding deputy that she observed the driver asleep at a red light. She went to see if he was OK and said she smelled alcohol and heard his slurred speech before reporting him.
When the sheriff’s deputy arrived and began talking with the suspect, he observed the man had watery and bloodshot eyes, according to the police report. The deputy also noted the man had trouble answering questions, such as his name, and that he smelled of alcohol. He had trouble completing a field sobriety test, according to the report.
The man allegedly had a breath-alcohol level of .285, more than three times the legal limit, on site. Before the deputy arrested the man, he searched the golf cart and found an open 1.75-liter bottle of Fireball whiskey and four smaller bottles of Fireball.
When the suspect refused to sign the citation for drunk driving, he was charged with resisting an officer. He was taken to jail and released on a $2,500 bond.
A golf cart isn’t the same weight as a car, but this man was a danger to others on the road nevertheless – and to himself — if the evidence shows he was drunk and a jury convicts him. Being behind the wheel of a golf cart while intoxicated is still a crime, and he should seek vigorous representation.