A Leesburg man was arrested for allegedly colliding with a sedan in a golf cart and leaving the scene to park in his garage.
A deputy responded to a motor vehicle hit-and-run complaint at 32691 Oak Park Drive around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. While on the way, dispatch advised that 83-year-old Robert Pacewicz collided into the complainant’s grandmother’s vehicle. He then left the scene of the traffic crash and went to his residence on Oak Park drive. The complainant advised that Pacewicz was intoxicated and collied with a parking stone inside his garage.
Upon arrival, the deputy met with the complainant and two other occupants of the second vehicle involved, a silver 2006 Lincoln four-door sedan. All three occupants and their vehicle were parked in the residential driveway area of 32691 Oak Park Drive, the report said.
The deputy interviewed the driver of the Lincoln while on scene. The driver stated that prior to the complainant contacting law enforcement, she was driving westbound on Oak Park Drive approaching the intersection with Countryside Boulevard. She then came to a complete stop at the stop sign posted there, the report said.
At the same time, Pacewicz approached the intersection from Countryside Boulevard in a 2019 Club Car golf cart. He proceeded to conduct a lefthand turn onto Oak Park Drive where the driver’s side of his golf cart collided into the driver’s side of the Lincoln. After this, the occupants of the Lincoln watched Pacewicz continue traveling southbound on Oak Park Drive until reaching his residence on 32691 Oak Park Drive, the report said.
Pacewicz proceeded to drive onto his driveway area to park his golf cart in the garage. He had great difficulty with parking. According to the driver of the Lincoln, she tried to engage in a civil agreement with Pacewicz, but he became uncooperative. He refused to provide any information and later told her he was going inside his home intending to no longer be disturbed. This was when the occupants decided to contact the LCSO, the report said.
While on scene, the two other occupants of the Lincoln were interviewed. Their recollection of events corroborated the driver’s statement. They also said Pacewicz appeared inebriated due to his slurred speech and inability to communicate anything senseful, the report said.
The other occupants described Pacewicz’ golf cart as standard with a utility bed at the back of it. When asked about other vehicles in his garage, they described another vehicle which was possibly a van. They all described Pacewicz at about 80 years of age, 5’11” and with a medium to heavier build size, the report said.
Contact was then attempted at Pacewicz’ residence. When he opened his front door, the deputy immediately determined Pacewicz matched the description given by the occupants of the Lincoln, the report said.
Pacewicz was questioned whether he could vacate his residence to provide a statement of the events leading toward law enforcement’s interaction with him. However, he refused multiple times and increasingly became uncooperative. He still agreed to allow LCSO deputies to examine his vehicle, which was currently parked inside his closed garage area, the report said.
Shortly after, Pacewicz opened his garage door while standing behind a screen door attaching the garage to a utility room. A deputy went in and examined his golf cart that matched the description given by the occupants of the Lincoln, the report said.
While inside the garage, the deputy informed Pacewicz that he was actively investigating a criminal complaint for operating a golf cart while under the influence of alcohol. He tried to explain that due to his suspicion of Pacewicz driving a golf cart while under the influence, he wanted Pacewicz to perform field sobriety exercises. Pacewicz refused to do so, the report said.
The deputy fully explained what the adverse consequences of this would be, but he continued to refuse. He was subsequently placed under arrest in handcuffs and escorted to the rear of a patrol vehicle. Due to any injury sustained during taking him into custody, EMS was contacted and later arrived on scene to evaluate him, the report said.
The report noted that during the deputy’s interaction with Pacewicz, his speech was slurred, his eyes were glassy, and the distinct odor of alcohol came from his mouth.
Pacewicz was later read his implied consent warning for the request of submitting to a breath test for determining its alcoholic content, but he refused to do it. An implied consent warning form was completed afterward. The report noted that after reading him his implied consent, he acknowledged the fact that he drank wine.
A DUI packet was also completed and submitted as an attachment to Pacewicz’ probable cause affidavit and to LCSO. A state of Florida DHSMV affidavit of refusal to submit breath and/or urine test was completed and submitted as an attachment, as well, the report said.
Pacewicz was ultimately charged with DUI (property damage), leaving the scene (property damage) and failure to sign. The Connecticut native was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $3,000 bond.
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Source: leesburg-news
