ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. — A crash involving a golf cart and a car left one man dead early Friday morning.
The Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department received the call of a motor vehicle accident around 12:48 a.m. near Fairway Drive and Route 10.
Crews found a heavily damaged car overturned and a damaged Yamaha golf cart in the road.
Ryan Allen Cooling was driving the golf cart with no headlights in the wrong lane, Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya said.
That's when Cooling hit a 2019 Mitsubishi Mirage head-on.
Cooling was ejected from the golf cart and died at the scene before Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance arrived.
State police said he wasn't wearing a seatbelt and alcohol was a factor.
The driver of the Mirage, Joseph Connelly, had minor injuries and was arrested for driving under the influence, state police said.
"A horrible combination of factors that shouldn't have been there in the first place led to a very tragic situation," Smithfield Police Deputy Chief Matt Rogers said.
Cypress Creek Golfers' Club officials said someone stole the golf cart used in the crash from their club overnight.
They also said someone vandalized the grounds by driving a golf cart on the greens, and a residential burglary was reported from a home near the course.
All reports are under investigation and are not connected at this time.
In Smithfield, it is illegal to drive golf carts at night or on any road with speed limits greater than 25 miles per hour. Rogers said Friday's crash is the city's first golf cart-related deadly accident.