Villager in golf cart crash feared blood test would ‘screw up the rest of my life’

A Villager involved in a 2022 golf cart crash said he feared a blood test would “screw up the rest of my life.”

Douglas Ray Adams, 73, of the Village of Monarch Grove, was arrested at his home Friday on a warrant charging him with driving under the influence.

The Kinston, N.C. native had been driving a black 2017 Yamaha golf cart at about 7 p.m. Dec. 13 when he crashed on the multi-modal path in the area of County Road 466A and Buena Vista Boulevard, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The cart had overturned and landed on top of Adams. A bystander rushed to Adams’ aid and helped free him. The bystander yelled for a neighbor to call 911.

Adams had not been wearing a seatbelt and it appeared he had been speeding on the wet surface. Adams insisted he had been traveling at 18 miles per hour. Adams’ personal belongings had spilled out from the golf cart, including golf balls, shoes and an open 200ml bottle of Smirnoff vodka. A paramedic at the scene said Adams appeared to be “highly intoxicated.” Adams was transported by ambulance to the emergency room clinic at Trailwinds Village.

A deputy investigating the crash went to the medical facility and informed Adams he would be ticketed for driving too fast for conditions and an open container violation.

“Fair enough,” Adams told the deputy.

The deputy also wanted a blood sample, due to the “impracticality” of a breath test at the ER. Adams became “very belligerent,” the report said.

Eventually, he consented to the blood test.

“Take the damn blood test, because I got to tell you, this is going to screw up the rest of my life,” Adams said.

Two vials were taken and sent for testing to the lab at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The results were returned earlier this year and showed that Adams had blood alcohol levels of .239 and .241. A warrant was later issued for his arrest. After he was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center, Adams was released late Friday night after posting $1,000 bond.