Peachtree City suffers town's first golf cart death

<p>A woman died Thursday after falling out of a golf cart in Peachtree City, Ga., the first cart-related fatality in the town's 46-year-history that its mayor said was a "freak accident."</p><p>Debra Overholt, 36, of Tyrone, Ga., was riding in the front seat of a cart driven by her brother-in-law, Luis Sanchez-Montanez of Peachtree City, Ga.</p><p>Overholt fell from her seat onto the path after he made a left turn as they headed to pick up their 3-year-old sons from school, Sanchez-Montanez said.</p><p>She struck her head on the asphalt surface and was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center, where she died, Peachtree City police said Friday.</p><p>Mayor Steve Brown called the accident "real bizarre." Town officials said there had been several serious accidents in the past involving golf carts but no deaths until Thursday.</p><p>"All indications lead us to believe it was just a freak accident," he said. "I don't think it's any way indicative of anything wrong with the path system."</p><p>Sanchez-Montanez has not been charged, said police, who are still investigating the accident.</p><p>The affluent town of 38,000, located about 25 miles southwest of Atlanta, is well-known in Georgia for its 90 miles of asphalt paths for the town's 9,000 registered golf carts.</p><p>Residents routinely use them to cruise to the grocery store or the doctor's office without touching the highway and police regularly cite cart drivers for traffic offenses.</p><p>Even the town's high school has special parking for 150 carts, as 15-year-olds with learner's permits can drive solo. Those as young as 12 may drive a cart if a parent or grandparent rides shotgun. The carts are permitted on Peachtree City streets and are allowed to cross state highways at designated places.</p><p>An average of three golf cart deaths a year were reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 1993 to 1997.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc140)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/9/138778