Credit: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department
A man accused of being intoxicated when he drove a golf cart into a young woman at Tullytown’s St. Michael’s Fair in late June was captured last week in Florida.
Bruce Coppage, 30, of Gibsonton, Fla., was arrested on a Bucks County warrant by the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff’s Department on Friday. Records show he was booked into jail at 7:40 p.m.
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Coppage will be facing extradition to Bucks County in the coming weeks.
The 30-year-old carnival worker has been a no show at court appearances on charges of aggravated assault while DUI recklessly endangering another person, accident involving death or injury and related offenses. District Judge Robert Wagner Jr. forwarded the charges to trial despite Coppage’s absence in November.
Coppage did not show up for two scheduled court appearances in 2013. He showed up to his first preliminary hearing, where he was free on unsecured bail. However, that was continued as he did not yet have a public defender. Coppage told Wagner at that time he missed a scheduled meeting with a public defender because he was two hours late due to traffic.
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Court records do not currently list an attorney for Coppage.
At the time of his arrest, Tullytown authorities said they observed slurred speech, lethargic demeanor coming from Coppage. They also said in court papers that he admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages prior to the accident. Officers asked the defendant if he could perform the field test and he told them he has problems with his knees at times, records show.
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Police said the woman struck by the golf cart suffered a serious injury and was “screaming in pain” when they arrived. The woman spent an extended period of time at St. Mary’s Hospital recovering from her injuries.
A co-worker and a friend of the victim said she is 24-years-old and underwent several surgeries after the accident, which almost lead to the amputation of her arm. The co-worker said the woman traveled with the carnival and was from the south.
Coppage was employed by Reithoffer Shows, which is based in Florida.
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