'Wedding crasher' bride dies after golf cart tumble

Stacey Henson
The News-Press
Paul Johnson and Shelly Osterhout, pictured Monday, September 28 sitting on the neighborhood bench where Paul proposed,  are inviting the public to crash their October 10 wedding reception at the Bell Tower Shops.

Less than two years after bride Shelly Osterhout embraced hundreds of wedding crashers at her reception at a Fort Myers shopping complex, she has died.

Osterhout, 51, married Lee Sheriff Deputy Paul Johnson on Oct. 10, 2015, before 120 people, including her three grown children, at Bell Tower Shops in Fort Myers. 

The couple then opened the reception to throngs of people including strangers who turned out to wish them well. The story attracted interest throughout the nation.

Crash investigation and arrest

According to a report from the Wildwood Police Department, witnesses reported they saw a man dragging Osterhout into the bushes near Buena Vista Boulevard and State Road 44 about 2 a.m. July 16.

The suspect then fled in a golf cart. 

MORE: Weddingcrashers invited to Bell Tower reception

After witnesses helped police track the suspect, Wildwood detectives contacted the driver of the cart. They said Timothy Foxworth, 36, of North Carolina, told them he left two local drinking establishments in Brownwood Square with Osterhout.

Shelly Osterhout, center, dances at her wedding reception on Saturday, October 10, 2015, in Fort Myers. Osterhout and Lee Co. Deputy Paul Johnson invited strangers to their wedding reception at Bell Tower Shops.

He was driving his father’s golf cart, detectives said, when Osterhout fell out of the cart and was unable to stand. Foxworth told them that he dragged her to the median, placed her in a flower bed and left, fearing he'd be arrested for drunken driving.

Timothy Foxworth

Foxworth was arrested that day and released on $25,000 bond. He was charged with hit and run causing great bodily injury and driving under the influence causing serious/great bodily injuries.

Osterhout, who had been visiting her parents at The Villages, died from her injuries on July 20.

Wildwood police said today the case is under review by the state attorney’s office. Additional charges may be filed or the current ones amended to reflect Osterhout's death.

She is a former owner of Computer Solutions of America, an adjunct professor at Florida SouthWestern University and worked at KeyedIn Solutions.  

Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen officiated at her wedding to Johnson.

"I was so honored to perform your wedding Shelly," Fitzenhagen wrote on Facebook. "I will miss you but remember all the energy, goodness and happiness you brought to this world. Rest In Peace dear Shelly."

Phyllis Ershowsky, of PKE Marketing & PR Solutions, knew Osterhout professionally.

"The first time I saw her was at the Greater Fort Myers Chamber office and she was deep in conversation on the phone, trying to get help for an acquaintance who had lost her home to a fire," she said. "Shelly was reaching out to her contacts to collect food and clothing for the family."

 Always ready with a smile, they met occasionally to talk over coffee.

"... business talk was always interspersed with stories about her children, and how they were so important to her," Ershowsky said. "She had an inner, and outer, light that attracted people to her, and it is so sad that that light has now gone out. I hope her family finds comfort in their memories and with each other."

Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home handled arrangements.