Rhodney Williams
Gordon Goswick
Courtesy, Washington County Sheriff
People have been talking for two days about a local man who was arrested Monday night after police found him driving drunk along Oakland Avenue on a lawn mower.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office website, Rhodney Williams, 50, of Fayetteville, is charged with driving while intoxicated, careless driving, improper safety equipment (no goggles? no seat belt?) and driving on a suspended license.
It’s the kind of thing you see on television and wonder whether it really happened.
Little Rock’s Arkansas Blog called it a DLMWI. The LM, of course, stands for lawn mower.
As if that weren’t odd enough, Fayetteville police appear to have clocked in their second alcohol-related, unconventional vehicle arrest in as many days following an early-morning DGCWI at the Links Apartments. GC stands for, you guessed it, golf cart.
Gordon Goswick, 41, of Fayetteville, was arrested for DWI around 3 a.m. Wednesday for, according to multiple reports, cruising along Olympic Club Avenue on a golf cart he’d earlier reported stolen.
Between these two incidents and last week’s fake bomb scare and extortion attempt, it’ll be a wonder if Fayetteville doesn’t make it onto TruTV sometime soon.
I was actually at the jail when he was bailed out. Mr. Williams was apparently taking a lawn mower back to a neighbor, and had drank too much. It was around9:30 as night when he was arrested. Tooooooo funny.
Riding mowers and golf carts aren’t intended to be driven sober. Consult any lawn or country club.
Still, the machinations of the state seek to villify these gentlemen, and it stains the public conscience. This is Fayetteville’s shame.
when did Fayetteville relocate to alabama?
Word.
I have seen the individual who was arrested on the lawn mower before at the Harp’s on Garland. He drove in and parked in the parking lot in a parking space, then went into the store to shop as I was exiting. It seemed like it was a regular occurance, and this was only about a week and a half ago. Makes me wonder if this is his mode of transportation…!
DWI punishments became so severe over the years because of the danger one imposes to other people if they cross the center line. On a golf cart or lawn mower, the chances of you hurting someone else are still present but WAY WAY lower. Its BS that people can still get that severity of punishment for this kind of stuff. Thousands in fines and a suspended license along with all the other trouble for going 5 mph on a lawn mower WTF. Give him a few tickets but a DWI come on now.
I agree… of course I don’t condone drunk driving no matter the vehicle, but there should be a difference between driving a large vehicle capable of causing great damage to others versus a golf cart. To me this should result in a ticket for driving something not suitable for the road (whatever that charge is called) and public intox, not DWI. If you really call that DWI, police could rack up some serious tickets at a golf course. In general I believe we have very draconian laws when it comes to drugs or alcohol and seem to be pretty lenient on worse charges.
Drunk arrests like DUI and public intox are a revenue engine for small government and the attorneys involved. There is no motivation to reduce the penalty or the frequency of arrests for minor alcohol infractions like riding a lawn mower loaded (silly, rare) or walking home lousy (common sense alternative to driving).
Also, the religious right and radical militants like MADD see no shades of grey in consumption, and lobby accordingly with overwrought fatalism.
What? You guys are crazy. swerving into a light pole to avoid some drunk guy on a lawnmower is just as deadly as swerving to avoid a full-sized vehicle, and possibly more likely to happen because drivers are not looking out for small, slow moving things in the road.
If they were on the interstate I would completely agree with you vandelay, but Oakland and Olympic Club Avenues are likely super low speed limit neighborhood roads and I’d imagine there was little to no traffic on them. I don’t see anyone swerving off the road becase of a lawnmower on a back street at 3 am.
So if I were to put a brushhog on a big John Deere/Kubota/etc you’d be fine with me driving it drunk down the road? Cause after all its a lawnmower not a car…
@Michael–
That is an interesting point about larger tractors– some of which are capable of going 35 MPH and usually operate with a set throttle. It’s been years since I’ve taken driver’s education, but I believe that in Arkansas passenger vehicles and “Implements of Husbandry” are seen as separate classes of conveyance. I don’t know if that would have any legal bearing. Personally, I don’t have any issue with steep punishments for DWI infractions, but I have a harder time stomaching a Public Intoxication citation if someone opts to walk anywhere instead of driving drunk.
We should Occupy the drunk tank! Reloveution and stuff!!!111!!1
I, for one, look forward to you fine people trying to figure out what size/weight/purpose of a particular vehicle qualifies someone for one of your subcategory DUI laws. Great idea: let’s throw more laws on the books!
Ok then what about a motorized wheelchair or a rascal. They are 4 wheeled motorized vehicles. Should one get a DWI on those?
Operating a mobility scooter or motorized wheelchair while intoxicated would probably result in a charge of public drunkenness or whatever other charges might accrue to a person who is walking around while drunk.
give ‘em a break for god’s sake-this isn’t chicago.