The prosecutor’s office is moving ahead with a criminal case against a Villager accused of punching a woman who had been driving a golf cart that fatally struck his wife.
Thomas Kent Brammer, 71, a resident of Villa De Laguna, faces a felony battery charge after authorities say he punched a 73-year-old Villager. The woman had struck and killed his wife, 71-year-old Deborah Ann Kempfer, on Dec. 15 on Morse Boulevard at San Juan Drive.
Thomas Brammer posted this photo of he and wife, Deborah Kemper, on social media.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Brammer beside his unconscious wife, who had been struck by a 2011 Yamaha golf cart. Reportedly overcome with anger, he punched the golf cart driver through the vehicle’s curtain.
Brammer and Kempfer, married for 43 years, had gone out for a walk that morning when the tragic incident unfolded.
Kempfer was crossing Morse Boulevard toward San Juan Drive when the golf cart hit her. According to a Florida Highway Patrol accident report, the cart had been pulling out of San Juan Drive and making a left turn onto Morse Boulevard. The report stated that Kempfer had walked into the golf cart’s path. She was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center, where she died later that day.
Authorities took Brammer into custody after he allegedly struck the golf cart driver, who was neither charged nor ticketed in the incident. Officials booked him at the Sumter County Detention Center and later released him on bond.
The New Jersey native was scheduled to appear in Sumter County Court on Thursday, but officials postponed his court date.
Brammer and his wife spent 35 years living in Rhinebeck, N.Y. She worked in sales administration at a car dealership before founding a pet care business, I’ll Be There Pet Care. The couple later moved to The Villages, where she served as secretary of the De Laguna Homeowners Association.
“The world will feel dimmer without her bright laughter and genuine smile,” her obituary said.
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