A Georgia woman has been charged with driving under the influence after her husband, who was also drinking, fell out of a golf cart in Florida, hit his head on the sidewalk, and died.
Port St. Lucie police said the incident took place shortly after 5 p.m. on Saturday while Cynthia Mackin, 62, and Daniel Mackin, 59, were playing golf at Astor Creek Golf & Country Club, WPTV reported. Mackin was driving the cart on the sidewalk while her husband was standing in the back. He lost his grip and fell from the moving golf cart.
“Our operator was consuming alcohol, the passenger even more,” Port St. Lucie Police Chief Leo Niemczyk said. “However, it was just an unsafe situation.”
Daniel Mackin was rushed to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where he died.
“It’s a tragic situation her husband passed,” Niemczyk said. “ Unfortunately, it was necessary to make the arrest at that time, because her BAC had to be captured, and a breathalyzer had to be performed.”
Mackin’s BAC was .09, just above the legal limit of .08, Law&Crime said.
Mackin was charged with DUI and later released on a $500 bail, according to WPTV.
“You have to have a designated driver,” Niemczyk said. “The person that’s going to be operating the golf cart has to be sober, and they have to be aware and they’re responsible for their passenger.”
Niemczyk said police were still investigating the incident and discussing it with the state attorney’s office to see if other charges are warranted.
The Mackins were from Greensboro, Georgia. Police did not say why they were in Florida.
Former Major League Baseball player Justis Logan Morrison, 37, was also arrested during the incident after he interfered and refused police instructions to stand back. Morrison, who played with six teams between 2010 and 2020, was charged with obstruction and also released on a $500 bail.
