A Villager driving a Lexus SUV with New York license plates was arrested after crashing into a light pole at a Publix Liquor store in The Villages.
The crash occurred at about 5 p.m. Saturday near the liquor store at Lake Deaton Plaza. Witnesses said the maroon SUV struck the light pole and the driver was identified by her New York driver’s license as 57-year-old Lorna Richardson, who is living in a rented villa on Schau Street in the Cliff Villas in the Villages of Southern Oaks. It appeared she had been drinking and was invited to participate in field sobriety exercises.
The Brooklyn native missed the heel to toe in her first step “and advised she could not preform the exercises,” according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. She refused to attempt the one-legged stand.
Richardson provided one breath sample that registered .262 blood alcohol content. She refused to provide a second sample. She was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. She was released after posting $1,000 bond.
