A Villager has lost her driver’s license after drinking at a town square and then crashing her golf cart.
Vonnie Nash, 63, pleaded no contest this past week in Sumter County Court to a charge of driving under the influence. She lost her driver’s license for six months, was placed on probation for one year and was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
Nash was involved in a golf cart crash at about 11 p.m. Dec. 23 in the area of Lisbon Lane and Panama Place in the Village of Rio Grande, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, Nash was found “wedged between both golf carts.” She had suffered abrasions on her left and right forearms as well as her left knee. Nash admitted to EMS personnel that she had been drinking. A container found in her golf cart held an alcoholic beverage, although Nash tried to claim it was water.
The North Carolina native was transported by ambulance to UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital.
During questioning, Nash said she had a Bloody Mary that morning and two Corona beers while at Amerikanos Grille at Spanish Springs Town Square. She admitted she had been driving the golf cart at the time of the crash.
She agreed to participate in field sobriety exercises in a private room at the hospital, but her poor performance led deputies to conclude she had been driving impaired. She provided breath samples that registered .088 and .087 blood alcohol content. A criminal history check revealed she had two previous arrests for driving under the influence in North Carolina.