On June 15, the Uxbridge, MA, police received two calls regarding Patricia Malone, 46. The initial call was from her ex, reporting Malone violated a no-trespassing court-order, broke into and burglarizing his house.
The second call was from officer Thomas B. Stockwell Jr., reporting Malone for erratic driving. She was driving on the golf course of the Whitinsville Golf Club in Northbridge.
When police caught up to Malone, she was still in her vehicle, stuck in a sand trap. The car had front-end damage and the rear wheels were off the ground.
When questioned, with her eyes reportedly red, she told the police “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.’”
The officer smelled alcohol. Upon searching Malone’s car, a Burger King cup full of alcohol was found. She soon admitted to having drunk a half liter of vodka earlier. Malone failed her field sobriety test and was charged with driving on a suspended license, fourth offense drunken driving, negligent driving, and driving with an open container of alcohol in the car.
If Malone’s GPS device had been used in conjunction with a GPS tracking system, she could have been tracked to her ex’s before the burglary occurred. Additionally, her erratic driving would have shown up on the map tracking, flagging an administrator. Malone’s “cornfield” expedition could have been prevented by using a GPS tracking system.
No golfers were injured.
Source: www.trutv.com/library/crime/blog/2012/06/20/woman-claims-her-gps-made-her-drive-into-golf-course-sand-trap/index.html. Photo: http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20220620woman_charged_with_drunken_driving_on_golf_course