Gators Softball former star and current UAA Assistant Academic Advisor arrested for DUI

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kendyl Jean Lindaman, 24, was arrested early this morning and charged with driving under the influence. She is a former Gators Softball player and was a Student Assistant Coach for the Gators Softball program for the 2022 season; she is currently an intern and Assistant Academic Advisor for the University of Florida Athletic Association.

A Gainesville Police Department officer reported that he saw a Kia Optima traveling at about 52 mph in a 35 mph zone in the 3200 block of W. University Avenue at about 1:46 a.m. He also noted that the car had drifted into the bicycle lane and had nearly hit the median at an intersection. The officer initiated a traffic stop, and the car pulled into a parking lot.

The officer reported that the driver, later identified as Lindaman, had red, watery eyes and that the car’s interior smelled “overwhelmingly” of an alcoholic beverage. He reported that her speech was slurred and she appeared to be “slightly disoriented.” Lindaman reportedly produced a temporary Iowa driver’s license but made no attempt to produce the registration or insurance information for the car. Her passenger, Natalie Lugo, who is also a former Gators Softball player and current Student Assistant for Gators Experience for the University of Florida Athletic Association, reportedly said that she owned the vehicle and that she would get the registration.

The officer asked Lindaman to get out of the car, and she complied; he noted that when she was out of the car, he could smell a strong alcoholic beverage odor on her breath. She reportedly gave him an incomplete address (leaving out the “NW” part of her street name in Gainesville) and initially told the officer she was coming from a friend’s house near Sorority Row. The officer noted that Lindaman and her passenger were wearing wristbands of the type that are used in bars, and when confronted with this, Lindaman reportedly changed her story and said they had been drinking at The Social at Midtown.

Lindaman performed poorly on the field sobriety exercises, and her breath samples measured at 0.206g/210L and 0.204g/210L; the legal limit is 0.08g/210L.

Lindaman has no local criminal history. Bail information is unavailable on weekends, but she has been released from the jail.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.