After launching her Buick Century into a sand trap Monday evening, 46 year old Patricia Maione had a rather interesting explanation. According to the Massachusetts woman it wasn't her alleged state of intoxication to blame for the crash, but a faulty GPS.
Christopher Hulme, general manager of the Whitinsville Golf Club, was informed shortly before closing Monday evening someone had crashed a Buick into a sand trap on the course. As soon as he arrived on scene, the uninjured but intoxicated woman explained how she had ended up in the bunker—"First thing she said to me was her GPS took her somewhere unexpected," said Hulme.
According to the Worcester Telegraph the woman "stated that her GPS had told her to turn left. She stated that this left brought her into a 'cornfield' and once she was in the 'cornfield' she kept driving trying to get out of her 'cornfield.' "
Necn.com reports Maione had "followed the golf cart path for nearly a quarter mile – narrowly missing several golfers along the way – before going over the edge into the sand trap." The bunker in question sits at the bottom of an 8 to 10 foot drop.
When police arrived at the golf course they "detected a strong smell of alcohol" and discovered "a large Burger King cup containing an alcoholic beverage in her car." Officers on scene reported that after failing a field sobriety test the woman admitted she had consumed a half liter of vodka around 10am Monday morning.
As a result of her unauthorized golf course cruise the woman was charged with driving without a license, negligent driving, driving with an open container and drunk driving—her fourth offense. Maione told police officers on scene she "did not even like golf".