International Polo | Records Dispute Polo Mogul’s Claim That His Phone Didn’t Work After Fatal Wellington Crash
It was the only call he made with his cell phone in the moments around the crash. When Palm Beach County Fire Rescue workers arrived at the scene moments later, after another passer-by called 911 to report the wreck, Goodman was gone and the other car’s 23-year-old driver had drowned.
Nearly an hour later, Goodman called 911 from the phone of a woman who lived nearby, claiming that his phone had not been working.
Law enforcement officials say Goodman’s single phone call could strengthen their accusation that Goodman willfully ignored his legal obligation to help the crash victim, Scott Wilson, or call for help after sending him careening into the water. Goodman, the multimillionaire owner of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, has been charged with DUI manslaughter with failure to render aid, and vehicular homicide with failure to render aid.
“You do have evidence suggesting the phone was operational during or after the crash,” Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Churchill said. “In one case, it could be a contributor to the crash. In another case, it could be much worse.”
Because the exact time of the crash is unknown, officials can’t say for certain that Goodman’s call at 12:58 a.m. came after the collision. However, a passer-by reported seeing the wreckage of Goodman’s Bentley at 1:01 a.m.
But Goodman’s personal assistant, Carlos Pravaz, said in an interview that he was certain that Goodman made the phone call after the crash occurred.
Pravaz told The Post that Goodman called while he was sleeping and would only have called at that hour because he desperately needed help.
Pravaz did not answer the phone in time and Goodman did not leave a message. When Pravaz woke and called back, he said no one picked up.
“I know he called me for help,” Pravaz said. “It would be safe to assume [the crash] had just happened.”
Later that morning, Pravaz received a call from Goodman’s girlfriend telling him to call Goodman on the cell phone lent to him by Lisa Pembleton, the woman who lived near the crash scene. Pravaz could not reach him and eventually went to the crash scene searching for his boss, who by then had been taken to a hospital.
A spokesman for Roy Black, Goodman’s Miami-based attorney, did not return a call for comment on Thursday.
But Goodman’s phone call raises questions about his claim immediately after the crash that his phone was not working.
When Goodman did use Pembleton’s phone at 1:54 a.m. to call 911 and report his involvement in the crash, he claimed he had wanted to call earlier but could not.
“I’m sorry. My phone was dead,” Goodman told a 911 dispatcher, according to a transcript of the 911 call. “I tried to call and my phone was dead.”
Pembleton, who lent Goodman her phone, later told investigators that he first used her phone to call his girlfriend, and that she had to persuade him to call 911.
Pravaz suggested that in the moments after the crash, Goodman’s phone may have run out of battery power after Goodman made the 10-second phone call to him.
State law requires the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash to render “reasonable assistance” to anyone injured.
Since the crash and the publicity surrounding Wilson’s death, Goodman has become a lightning rod for populist outrage, with many expressing fear that his wealth will keep him from serving time for what investigators call a drunken crash after a night of partying at two Wellington bars popular with the polo set.
His defense attorneys have asked the public not to rush to judgment until all facts are known. Goodman is free on bail while he awaits trial.
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