A driver told law enforcement he had been drinking beer at a country club in The Villages prior to a collision on Morse Boulevard.
The crash occurred at 12:14 a.m. Monday on Morse Boulevard near its intersection with Madero Drive.
Jared James Shifflette, 26, of Summerfield, had been driving a 2018 Jeep Commander with Tennessee license plates when he made a right turn out of the parking lot at Hacienda Hills Country Club and entered the southbound lane of traffic, where his vehicle struck an oncoming 2014 Ford Fusion driven by 38-year-old Timothy James Cronin Downey of the Village of Santo Domingo, according to an accident report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
Shifflette said his vehicle, owned by a woman from Bristol, Tenn., had “drifted” into the southbound lane of traffic. Shifflette admitted he had “at least three beers” during a “work party” at Hacienda Hills Country Club, an arrest report indicated. He failed field sobriety exercises. He provided a breath sample that registered .155 blood alcohol content.
He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. Bond was set at $1,000. He was also ticketed on a charge of careless driving.
Downey and a passenger, 79-year-old Joseph T. Downey, also of the Village of Santo Domingo, escaped injury.
