A Village of Poinciana woman will lose her driver’s license after overturning her golf cart in a crash earlier this year.
Michelle Lynn Cangelosi, 50, pleaded no contest last month in Sumter County Court to charges of driving under the influence and resisting arrest. She will lose her driver’s license for six months, has been placed on probation for one year and has been ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
Cangelosi had been driving a 2014 Yamaha golf cart at about 10 p.m. March 24 when she struck a curb and the golf cart overturned in the vicinity of Bailey Trail and Bluffton Road, not far from the SeaBreeze Recreation Center.
Cangelosi had “glassy watery, bloodshot eyes” and her speech “appeared to be slow,” according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The “tone of her voice was changing erratically” and she was “emitting a strong obvious odor consistent with an alcoholic beverage.”
Cangelosi said a vehicle pulled out 50 to 75 feet in front of her and she had to hit the brakes to avoid a collision. She “claimed her golf cart had a maximum speed of 22 miles per hour.” A witness said the golf cart had “erratically braked,” hit the curb and turned over.
A deputy attempted to arrest Cangelosi on suspicion of driving under the influence, but she “pulled away multiple times” when the deputy attempted to handcuff her. The deputy warned Cangelosi that she would be charged with resisting arrest if she continued to pull away. However, she continued to resist the deputy’s efforts to handcuff her.
The Rhode Island native was taken to a local emergency room and after she was medically cleared, she was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center. At the jail, she refused to submit to a breath test. She also refused to sign a DUI citation.
