‘He tried to kill us!’ Driver went on a rampage at a Florida golf course, police say
Unusual things go on at Florida golf courses, but they usually involve alligators walking across the links. An incident in Broward County was far more serious and frightening.
On Thursday morning, a man drove his car onto the course at Palm Aire Country Club in Pompano Beach, then began doing donuts — driving in circles at a high rate of speed.
His terrifying, wild ride ended with him crashing into a golf cart, sending at least one person to the hospital.
When deputies looked through his car, a green 1999 Mercury Sable, they found a white poodle inside.
Exclusive video- You don't see this everyday. A driver doing donuts on a golf course. We are told by the @browardsheriff that this man is in custody. And that he fought with someone on golf course. Hear from one golfer who had to go to the hospital. @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/gMCDzAyqNn
— Rosh Lowe (@roshloweWPLG) March 3, 2022
According to a police report, Broward sheriff’s deputies were called around 11 a.m. in response to a reckless driver. The driver was tearing through the course, with his body halfway out of the car, at a high rate of speed.
Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Claudinne Caro told the Miami Herald Friday that the suspect’s name is Filipe Desousa.
“He tried to kill us!” said one of the victims, Edward J. Walsh, 76. “This wasn’t just a guy riding rings around the things and tearing up the course. He drove straight into us.”
Walsh, a retired prosecutor living in Oakland Park, said his friend and tee partner for the day suffered two broken ribs.
“He zoomed by us going something like 20 mph screaming, ‘I’m Florida man! I can do anything!’” Walsh recounted. “It wasn’t just a prank.”
A bystander’s video provided to Local 10 starts with a bucolic, peaceful scene: birds flying by amid the trees swaying in the breeze. Suddenly, in the distance, you see a sedan going in circles on the green. The sound of brakes and a loud crashing noise shatter the peace.
According to court records, the 34-year-old local man faces numerous felony and misdemeanor charges including aggravated battery on a person over 65, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, animal cruelty, resisting an officer and reckless driving.
Desousa remains in Broward County Jail on $20,000 bond.
A spokesman for the club declined comment on Friday.
Miami Herald staff writer Carli Teproff contributed to this report.
