A drunk driving suspect was arrested after a crash in the parking lot at the Waterfront Inn at Lake Sumter Landing.
A woman had backed out of a parking spot at about 10 p.m. Tuesday and was preparing to leave the parking lot when her vehicle was struck in the side by a white 2019 Ford Explorer driven by 72-year-old Edward Charles Tomlinson of Oxford Oaks, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The woman detected “a strong odor of alcohol” coming from Tomlinson’s breath and suspected he may have been drinking.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they found that the Amsterdam, N.Y. native had “glassy and bloodshot eyes” and was “having difficulty maintaining his balance,” the report said. He said he was “not sure” what had happened.
Tomlinson struggled through field sobriety exercises. He initially refused to provide a breath sample and when he indicated he would provide the sample, he “did not comply with the instructions” and an adequate sample was not collected.
He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $1,000 bond.
