A freak accident on June 2 that involved a golf cart and wine glasses ended with the death of a San Jose woman. She was 58.
According to reports from the California Highway Patrol, around 11:15 p.m. the woman and her intimate partner of 17 years were riding in an E-Z-GO golf cart through their jointly-owned olive orchard located on private property in Wallace, a town situated almost 50 miles southeast of Sacramento.
The woman’s 57-year-old companion was driving the golf cart through the orchard — something the woman’s son said they did frequently.
“They would often ride through the orchard just to check things out and enjoy the serenity of the property,” he said.
But this night would be very different from the others. According to the CHP, as they approached the orchard’s boundaries, the man turned the cart to the left. His companion failed to “stabilize herself,” causing her to fall out of the vehicle. She was holding two wine glasses, which shattered upon impact with the ground. The woman tumbled on top of the shards of glass, causing fatal injuries. She died there in the orchard.
Although preliminary findings from the police investigation determined that “the driver’s actions did not cause the collision or fatal injuries” and the woman’s actions “cause[d]…the collision,” police arrested the San Jose man for suspected misdemeanor driving under the influence.
The son of the deceased woman spoke well of his mother’s companion, noting that he had passed the field sobriety test and that he “would never want anyone to think of [him] as an irresponsible man.”
The CHP officer said that while their department doesn’t release results of either blood alcohol content or field sobriety tests, they “wouldn’t have arrested him if we did not feel he was under the influence and FSTs are part of that determination.”
If you are injured due to another person’s negligence or if you lose a loved one in a motor vehicle accident caused by another at-fault driver, you may choose to seek legal relief and financial compensation through the California civil courts.
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