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The Villages
Friday, March 29, 2024

Golf cart tears bumper off van in hit-and-run accident at rec center

The bumper was nearly torn off Dick and Joan Hellmers' van while it was parked Tuesday at Bacall Recreation Center.
The bumper was nearly torn off Dick and Joan Hellmers’ van while it was parked Tuesday at Bacall Recreation Center.

A Villages couple is hoping to find the golf cart and driver who hit their vehicle when it was parked Tuesday afternoon at Bacall Recreation Center.

Damage to their vehicle is estimated at $5,000 to $6,000.

Joan Hellmer of the Village of Largo was playing mah-johnng inside the recreation center at the time of the accident at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Witnesses said a burgundy or red electric golf cart with a plain tan sunbrella pulled into the recreation center parking lot, scraped alongside the Hellmers’ 2014 Honda Odyssey and then hit the van’s front bumper, nearly tearing it off the vehicle. The golf cart also hit a parked Toyota RAV 4. The golf cart driver fled the parking lot, but was chased by several witnesses on foot.

The driver of the golf cart is described as a young man with light-colored hair.

Joan’s husband, Dick Hellmer, got in their golf cart and went down to Bacall Rec Center to see the damage.

“When I got there, I just couldn’t believe it,” he said.

A report has been filed with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

If you have information about the incident, you can contact the sheriff’s office at 689-4600.

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