A Village of Gilchrist woman who admitted she drank wine at a country club will lose her driver’s license as the result of an arrest earlier this year.
Elizabeth Williams Barry, 74, pleaded no contest last week in Sumter County Court to a charge of reckless driving, reduced from a charge of driving under the influence. She will lose her driver’s license for six months, will be on probation for one year and has been ordered to perform 30 hours of community service.
She was driving a white 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV when she sideswiped a black 2012 Club Car golf cart at about 5 p.m. May 16 on Pinellas Place near the Bonifay Country Club, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. She initially claimed she had consumed a single glass of wine at the country club.
Barry struggled through field sobriety exercises and had “an extremely difficult time” placing the tip of her finger on the tip of her nose. She had to perform the exercises in a seated position, because she was having “balance issues.” She was also “zoning out,” during the exercises, the report noted. Prior to a breathalyzer test, the Buffalo, N.Y. native said she had consumed two glasses of wine. She provided breath samples that registered .071 and .065 blood alcohol content. She also provided a urine sample.
