A Villager has lost his driver’s license for 10 and will serve 90 days in jail as the result of a drunk driving arrest in a golf cart.
Michael Robert Broderick, 60, of the Village of Sunset Pointe, pleaded no contest earlier this month in Sumter County Court to charges of driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a breath test. He has also been placed on probation for two years.
He had been driving a silver EZ GO golf cart at about 3 p.m. Oct. 7 when he left a roundabout on Buena Vista Boulevard and attempted to enter the gate at the Village of Winifred, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. That entrance is not authorized for golf carts.
Two witnesses saw Broderick trying to ram the gate when he could not get the gate to open. The bystanders called 911 and watched as Broderick drove away, turned around and stopped up against a curb. The bystanders, who suspected Broderick was intoxicated, convinced him to exit the golf cart and sit down in a grassy area. They placed him under a “citizen’s arrest.”
The deputy who arrived at the scene had arrested Broderick in March on a charge of driving under the influence. Broderick lost his driver’s license as a result of that arrest. He was also placed on probation.
The Massachusetts native was invited to participate in field sobriety exercises. He initially began the exercises, but then hesitated.
“No, I probably don’t want to do it,” he said.