Updated: 1 man dies after a golf car wreck in Central Kentucky. Driver faces charges
A Kentucky woman was charged with DUI and other offenses after allegedly causing a golf cart wreck that left one man dead and severely injured another, according to court documents.
The crash happened early Saturday morning on Cruse Lane near Dodd Road in Madison County. An arrest citation filed by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department says a golf cart carrying six people ran off the road and overturned as it was headed down a hill.
Two men suffered severe injuries and had to be transported to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, according to court documents. One of those men, 23-year-old Austin Short, later died at the hospital. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office said he died from multiple blunt force injuries. His death was ruled an accident.
Three people on the cart, including the driver, 20-year-old Katlyeen Sparks of Irvine, got the golf cart back upright and pushed it to a residence.
The people on the golf cart who hadn’t been injured told investigators they’d been drinking, according to court documents. Sparks had bloodshot watery eyes and smelled like alcohol, her arrest citation says.
Sparks was sent to Baptist Health Richmond for a blood draw, court documents say. She was then taken to the Madison County Detention Center.
Sparks faces charges of operating a non-motor vehicle under the influence, first-degree wanton endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident, according to court records. Her bond is set at $5,000.
This story was originally published August 21, 2023 at 1:45 PM.
