The average top speed of a standard golf cart is 10 to 15 miles per hour (MPH).
People use golf carts for a variety of reasons outside of playing golf.
And police could not believe it when this drunk Florida man tried to outrun them in a golf cart.
Driving while under the influence of alcohol is a serious criminal offense in all 50 states.
According to government statistics, 37 people die each day in the United States in drunk-driving car accidents.
In 2022, 13,524 people were killed by drunk drivers in the U.S.
But most people do not realize that it’s also illegal to ride a bicycle or operate a golf cart under the influence of alcohol.
On July 19, police in Sumter County, Florida saw a man driving a red golf cart down the middle of the road at 1:00 a.m.
The man, 21-year-old Christopher Esdale, was occupying both lanes of traffic in the golf cart.
The incident took place in Florida’s famous retirement community, The Villages.
One of the community’s most utilized features is the extensive network of golf cart paths.
Even major bridges which traverse waterways have dedicated cart pathways, separated from motor vehicle traffic.
When the deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop, Esdale rode around their car with his golf cart and kept on going down the road.
The deputies turned on their sirens and followed Esdale in hot pursuit.
Officials said that shortly after 1 a.m., deputies saw a red golf cart traveling eastbound on County Road 466 near the Oak Hammock Path.
Deputies said Christopher Esdale was driving the golf cart in the middle of the roadway, which is not an approved roadway for golf carts, when they tried to stop him several times.
“For a short time, the golf cart driver, 21-year-old Christopher Esdale, illegally drove on and off roadways as the deputy followed him with sirens blazing and lights activated, an affidavit shows,” Fox35 reported. “At one point, the deputy said he pulled his car out in front of Esdale, who then drove into the grass in an attempt to evade law enforcement.”
Eventually, the deputy got out of his car and dragged Esdale out of the golf cart.
Since the officers noticed a bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey and slurred speech, they performed a sobriety test on Esdale.
The test showed Esdale was drunk.
He was arrested and charged with fleeing/eluding law enforcement, resisting law enforcement without violence, and driving while under the influence of alcohol.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
