A man charged with leaving a woman to die after she fell from his parents’ golf cart in The Villages has suffered a legal setback in the criminal case he is facing.
Timothy Jacob Foxworth, 37, had been visiting his parents in the Village of Gilchrist when he was arrested July 16, 2017. He met 51-year-old Shelly Osterhout, of Fort Myers at City Fire at Brownwood. They left together in his parents’ golf cart from which she fell, suffering the fatal injury. Foxworth told police he “panicked,” dragged her body into a flower bed and drove away. She was discovered by Good Samaritans who called for an ambulance. She later died at Ocala Regional Medical Center.
Last month in Sumter County Court, Judge William H. Hallman III denied a motion from Foxworth’s attorney for a dismissal of the case. The dismissal had been based in part on an expert witness who blamed Osterhout for the fall from the golf cart.
“Mr. Foxworth did not cause or contribute to the death of Mrs. Osterhout,” Foxworth’s attorney, Andrew Moses, wrote in court papers.
Moses had argued that there had not been a “crash” in the incident and claimed his client had been improperly charged. Last month, the prosecution filed a slightly amended charge in the case. He is facing a charge of DUI manslaughter, a second degree felony.
“It is undisputed that the Defendant fled from the scene of this incident in the golf cart because he had been drinking and was afraid of going to jail. He was later found and made admissions to this,” wrote Assistant State Attorney William James Catto.
