Update: Both individuals were found guilty but at reduced charges: Cuthbertson was found guilty of reckless driving with property damage, assessed fines and assigned community hours. Mills was found guilty of careless driving and assessed a fine. Adjudication was withheld.
Two separate incidents over the weekend led to the drunk-driving arrests of two well-known local leaders, one of whom helped lead the revived “Wings Over Flagler: Rockin’ the Runays” fly-in at the Flagler County Airport on Friday and Saturday.
Bill Mills, a Flagler Beach resident, head of TBD Partners and a lead organizer, with WNZF radio, of Wings Over Flagler since the event’s inception four years ago, was arrested just before midnight on Friday (April 25) on the Flagler Beach Bridge and charged with DUI after initially failing to slow down or move over for vehicles stopped on the bridge, according to his arrest report. The event at the airport had begun earlier that day.
Early Sunday morning—just before 4 a.m.—Mick Cuthbertson, the long-time community development director in Bunnell and a solid constant in an administration often in flux, was arrested on U.S. 1 near Ormond Beach and charged with DUI with property damage after being involved in a two-vehicle crash allegedly triggered by his driving in the wrong direction of U.S. 1.
“This is certainly not representative of the type of person that I am,” Cuthbertson, 58, said this morning. “I am going through a very stressful situation and I reacted inappropriately.” That situation, he said, “got the best of me.” He added: “I’m going to learn from this and move on.”
Cuthbertson was driving a Toyota Camry. A woman had been driving a Nissan Sentra. Both declined medical transport from rescue units at the scene. A witness told a Florida Highway Patrol investigator that Cuthbertson had been driving south in the northbound lanes of U.S. 1 just before the crash. When the trooper initially approached him, Cuthbertson was asleep in the Toyota. Asking him to walk with him to the scene to explain what had happened, the trooper then noticed Cuthbertson being very unsteady on his feet, that his speech was slurred, that his “accounts of the crash didn’t make sense, and he didn’t have any idea as to what had happened.”
The woman driving the Sentra told the trooper that she had been at a stoplight at U.S. 1 and Plantation Bay when she noticed headlights coming at her. The Toyota then struck the Sentra.
At 5:39 a.m., the trooper began the series of field-sobriety tests that are routine during such DUI investigations. Cuthbertson was unable to follow instructions, was unable to stand in the starting position, and became so unsteady that he was in danger of falling, so two exercises were aborted for his safety. He was unable to complete a finger-count exercise. At 7:38 a.m. at the Flagler County jail, Cuthbertson provided two breath samples, which registered alcohol readings of .007 and .000 respectively. The trooper concluded the samples were inaccurate.
When the trooper told Cuthbertson that he was going to provide a urine sample kit, Cuthbertson, the report states, relieved himself before the kit was ready. The trooper had Cuthbertson go through several glasses of water to stimulate another sample. That proved unsuccessful. “I then informed the driver that I had no choice but to charge him with the refusal based on the fact that he knew I was going to get the urine kit, and that he had fully relieved himself anyway,” the trooper reported.
Cuthbertson posted $1,000 bond and was back at work Monday morning.
Mills, 51, was back at the air show Saturday. “My attorney is going to be handling this,” Mills said, stressing that the incident was not worth taking the focus away from what turned out to be a successful event at the county airport, with more to come in subsequent years. “We don’t want this to be a black eye,” Mills said.
Of the incident itself, Mills said: “It’s an unfortunate thing. It shouldn’t have happened, and we’re going to have our day in court.”
Mills was driving a Chrysler Town and Country when he passed by a trio of stopped emergency vehicles with their lights activated on the bridge. “The Chrysler was unable to move over to the left lane of travel due to another vehicle in the left lane,” the arrest report states, “however, the Chrysler passed by the patrol vehicles at approximately 30 MPH in a posted 35 MPH zone instead of slowing down to 15 MPH.” Mills said in an interview this morning that the posted speed limit is 45, not 35.
When the deputy made contact with Mills, the deputy reported that Millls had glassy and bloodshot eyes, with a “moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath while speaking to him.” Mills was then asked to perform field sobriety exercises, which he agreed to do. He was reportedly lacking “smooth pursuit in both eyes” in a horizontal gaze exercise, starting some exercises while the cop was still explaining instructions and missing some steps along the way. But to what extent he succeeded or failed to fulfill each exercise also appeared to be a matter of interpretation on the cop’s part as minute details came into play (such as not whether, but where precisely, Mills touched his nose and with what finger).
At the jail, Mills provided samples of his breath that both yielded readings of .066 (the legal limit is .08). He was booked on a DUI count and released on $250 bond.
Bunnell Resident says
His blood alcohol level and field sobriety test results do not match. No one with a .07 would be that physically impaired. Although still inexcusable and possibly a contributing factor to the crash it is very possible he was injured in the crash. This could explain why he could not pass a field sobriety test.
Charles Gardner says
John 8:7
RHWeir says
Oh well, you know what they say about beer, you can only rent it, you can’t own it! However, it seems like you can own water. Reminds me of the Jerry Stiller routine where he tries to coax a stream out, come one, just a little bit, you can to it, just a little bit. Mills on the other hand, .066! Oh my! I hope he doesn’t fly the way he drives.
BIG JOHN says
Don’t drink and drive….Call Eagle Passenger Service at 386-264-1334.
Be safe, not sorry! Call John, and don’t worry!
FloridaGirl says
At least he owned it! That in itself says so much to me! Just saying…
“This is certainly not representative of the type of person that I am,” Cuthbertson, 58, said this morning. “I am going through a very stressful situation and I reacted inappropriately.” That situation, he said, “got the best of me.” He added: “I’m going to learn from this and move on.”
THE VOICE OF REASON says
So neither of these guys blew the limit but they just decided to book them anyway?
And the one guy was able to touch his nose but with the wrong finger? Come on. He probably was just sending a message to the cop.
And before any of you folks get on me about how we have to get drunk drivers off the road, I agree. But neither of these guys was drunk. They passed the primary measurement with flying colors. There are many reasons other than alcohol for someone not being able to walk a straight line, touch their nose or recited the alphabet backward.
As an example, I have equilibrium problems when standing that do not occur when sitting. So I probably couldn’t walk the line or touch my nose with my eyes closed and my head tilted back. And I haven’t had a drink in 30 years other than an occasional single glass of champagne.
Jan Reeger says
Mick is a wonderful person and one of the best assets Bunnell has ever had. Hope he figures everything out for himself in his personal issues.
DUI Lawyer Orange County says
Bill Mills was extremely lucky no one was hurt or killed. Very dangerous!
JoJo says
Shameful that a Leader and Director drink and drive especially when one almost killed another driver. I hope moving on for both men means never drinking and driving again. Drinking and Driving is a joke and not taken seriously until unfortunately, someone is killed.
Florida Native. says
Drunks-R-Us….This place is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Anonymous says
mills said that my attorney will handle this , we don’t want this to be a black eye, well mills it too late, it is. you make it sound like its no bit deal mills. tell that to MADD and the people who lost a love one in a DWI accident me being one of those people. you probably fly under the influence also.
blondee says
“I am going through a very stressful situation……” Blah, blah, blah. Everyone says that when they get CAUGHT.
justaperson says
I have worked for Mick and consider him to be one of the best bosses I’ve ever had. I learned more from him than most employees learn from their employers. We’re all guilty of making stupid decisions and sometimes those decisions haunt us. My heart goes out to him and his family.
The Truth says
Thankfully, his poor decision won’t be haunting someone else who could have been burying a family member because of his “stupid decision”.
Reds says
You do not have to be drunk in order to be charged with a DUI. A driver can blow legal but be under the influence of narcotics.
THE VOICE OF REASON says
But, Reds, the story says the guy blew 0.00 and the cop decided it was a malfunction.
So that means that I — who hasn’t had a drink in 30 years — could be driving down the street and have a blood pressure episode because I forgot my medicine two days in a row, fail the field sobriety test because of what a blood pressure spike does to my equilibrium, then blow 0.00 and the cop can just decide the Breathalyzer is wrong and arrest me anyway.
Either the machine works or it doesn’t. Can;t have it both ways.
The sky is falling says
If he releived himself why was he not charged with indecent exposure or tampering with evidence. Sounds a little fishy like the cop was trying to give him a way out with the inconsistant readings and then this BS. An investigation of the way this was handled is warranted!! Lets get on it boys!
flyeaglesfly says
First of all, everyone need not meld both these separate incidents together. Each is an extremely different case or situation. Bill mills did not have an accident or hurt anybody, and quite frankly most all drivers in Florida probably don’t even know about the slow down and move over law. Hell, half of Floridians don’t even have insurance, and the other half need to retake their drivers test!!! All of those who are quick to judge, please check the skeletons in your own closet because we all have them, and have done things that we regret in our lives. What irks me, is all of you who are quick to criticize have no idea who this man is or his character and all the GOOD he has done for this community. So sick of people not knowing both sides of the story before commenting or passing judgment. You might want to say a prayer for he and his family because I’m sure they are going through hell right now.
Signed,
Someone Who Is a Good Person and Made a Bad Mistake Once Also.
JG says
Nothing to see here…move along. These are not the sort of people to be trifled with. They should have just gone to a West Flagler hunting camp, burned a few and maybe got laid. Lawful activities, you know?
Kenneth Durocher says
The breathalazyers in use in Florida do not work due to
RFI, radio frequency interference. The Florida Department of
Law Enforcement, FDLE, has known this for several years
and failed to inform any of the cities or counties. This
will eventually result in hundreds of DUI cases being
overturned and thrown out of court.
Anonymous says
“I am going through a stressful situation” … this man does need help. He has deep psychological issues but most don’t see it because of his wit and sarcasm. It is not surprising to read this news. Fortunately, it didn’t end in someone else’s death. Unfortunately, I cannot imagine that Bunnell would keep someone like this on staff after trying to clean up its image. Thank god nobody was injured by the poor decision making.
Angel says
Prayers for all the families involved. If you look at the mugshot, you can tell there is some very deep pain in those eyes. “There is no witness so dreadful, no accuser so terrible as the conscience that dwells in the heart of every man.” ― Polybius
Brandon says
I know one thing Mr Bill Mills is a great guy I find that very hard to believe he was speeding the posted speed limit is 45 not 35 like flagler county police stated in the report and I don’t believe for one second he was drinking in driving The flagler county police have noting better to do than sit at bottom of bridge and makes excuses and pull people over.