A retired New York City restaurant owner has been charged with DUI after his wife died in a golf cart crash in Florida.
Angelo Theodosiou, 64, who was behind the wheel of the cart, reportedly had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol when the crash occurred, according to an arrest report from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Johns.
His wife Christina Theodosiou, 58, fell from the vehicle and hit her head on the ground, and later died from her injuries.
“People need to know that golf carts are not toys. They are dangerous, and they can kill people,” Attorney Curry Pajcic told WJAX.
The incident occurred at around 10:45 pm on November 30 in the coastal community of Nocatee, where the couple had retired several years earlier.
Angelo Theodosiou, a retired New York City restaurant owner, has been charged with DUI after his wife, Christina Theodosiou, died in a golf cart crash in Florida (Dignity Memorial/Theodosiou family)
Detectives noted that “Angelo Theodosiou’s eyes were bloodshot and watery and the pupils showed red sclera,” according to an arrest report seen by. Law and Crime. There was also an “odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from him that officers could smell “from about three feet away in an open area,” according to the report.
“The defendant [is] the driver of a golf cart where the passenger fell out of the vehicle… The victim, the defendant’s wife, hit her head on [the] reason… The accused was found to be the guilty driver.”
Theodosiou reportedly refused to participate in a standardized field sobriety test, according to police, and instead asked “repeatedly” what was going on and why he was being arrested. He was charged with driving under the influence and refusing to submit to police testing.
Christina Theodosiou was transported to Jacksonville Memorial Trauma Hospital by helicopter but later succumbed to her injuries.
Theodosiou, 64, who was behind the wheel of the cart, was reported to have bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol when the crash occurred on November 30 (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
Residents and local authorities have expressed concern about the lack of speed bumps or other safety measures, Pajcic told WJAX. “These happen on a weekly basis, if not daily, these golf cart crashes, so we’re talking about hundreds a year,” he said.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that Angelo Theodosiou was released on bond on December 1st, with his next court hearing scheduled for January 6th.
Theodosiou claimed that he was not under the influence and was not responsible for the incident.
“My client maintains his innocence and we look forward to receiving the evidence,” said attorney L. Lee Lockett. The Citizen of San Juan. “He didn’t cause the accident, he wasn’t impaired.”
Lockett added that Theodosiou is “heartbroken” and “saddened” by the death of his wife. “It’s depressed as can be,” he said.
Theodosiou previously owned the Jackson House Restaurant in Jackson Heights, Queens, according to the New York Post.