WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — The only suspect in an August 2022 woman’s death in the parking lot of a popular Irish pub appeared to catch another break after prosecutors declined to charge him for it.

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Officers believe Mitchell Geltz ran over his mother, Sara, with his pickup truck after visiting Hagan O’Reilly’s Irish Pub after his mother tried to stop him from driving home.

Newly released body camera video showed a distraught Geltz repeatedly telling officers what happened was an accident and he didn’t break any laws. According to investigative reports, he told officers he drank one beer while inside the pub.

A receipt from the pub showed officers Geltz bought 16 drinks that night, though he didn’t necessarily consume all of them. While he refused a breathalyzer on-scene, a test hours later recorded his BAC at more than three times the legal limit, officers said. They did not arrest him immediately after the test results came back.

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Officers recommended that prosecutors charge Geltz with DUI manslaughter, citing witness reports that put him behind the wheel of his truck as it ran his mother over. However, court records show prosecutors decided to only charge him with DUI – a traffic violation – 10 months after the incident.

Attorneys say DUI manslaughter charges are brought when someone drives a vehicle drunk and causes someone’s death. The death does not have to be intentional.

“After reviewing all the evidence that was submitted to our office, we discussed our findings with the victim’s family and law enforcement, and filed what could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Jason Gunn, spokesman for the state attorney’s office, wrote in mid-July.

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At the time, Gunn worked for State Attorney Monique Worrell, who has since been suspended for dismissing many more charges than other state attorneys across the Sunshine State. Gunn did not respond to a follow-up email sent Tuesday asking if newly appointed State Attorney Andrew Bain planned to review this case.

Geltz’s attorney also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Since that night, Geltz – who claimed he was well connected in Winter Garden to one officer -- and his family – have sought to keep records relating to his mother’s death from the public and the media. They filed a lawsuit against the coroner’s office and Sheriff John Mina to limit the release of reports only to Geltz and other family members.

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That case is still pending.

Geltz was also arrested for DUI in 2019, though the charges were later dismissed. Body camera video from that incident showed police found him passed out behind the wheel while parked in someone’s lawn. It also showed him threatening the officer who arrested him.

The elder Geltz was both a mother and a grandmother. After her death, neighbors described her as very nice and an active member of her local church.

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