Late the night of Aug. 19, 2025, Mollie Hayes, 19, was driving a Kia K5 north on Belle Terre Parkway in Palm Coast. She was drunk. Her blood alcohol level would later measure 0.181 and 0.171 (the legal limit is 0.08). She never saw Kevin Matthew De Oliveira until it was too late. De Oliveira was riding an ebike in the right lane. Hayes collided with him at Pine Grove Drive.
De Oliveira suffered “a fractured bone and severe head injury,” according to a Florida Highway Patrol report, and was taken to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach. Hayes, a B-Section resident, faltered during her field sobriety exercises and was initially cited for drunk driving and for drunk driving with injury to a person. That August she was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of DUI with serious bodily injury.
She was released on an $11,000 bond. She was rearrested last April for violating the terms of her pretrial release: she’d been drinking again.
This morning, following a generous plea, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols sentenced Hayes as a youthful offender rather than as an adult, to half a year in jail (she has already served 80 of the 180 days) and four years on probation, along with a series of additional conditions, one of them a Scram device she will have to wear on her ankle to monitor her alcohol use 24 hours a day, for a year.
The question today was whether the judge would adjudicate her guilty of the felony, which would brand her a felon for the rest of her life, or whether, in accordance with the plea agreement, the judge would withhold adjudication, sparing Hayes the felony designation.
“There’s such an asymmetry between how much it means to the state and how much it means to her, Hayes’s attorney, Kurt Teifke, said of withholding the adjudication. “I mean, she’s 20.”
“I know that. But,” the judge said, “someone could have been killed.”
“True. Very serious. And it’s a great offer,” Teifke said.
“It’s a wonderful offer,” the judge said. But Nichols saw red flags.
“I don’t understand how you drink that much at your age and think that there’s not a red flag there,” the judge told Hayes.
“There definitely is, 100 percent,” Hayes said.
Hayes has been drinking since age 14, according to her pre-sentencing investigation. “When I read what she’s been drinking, I didn’t know it was possible to consume that much,” the judge said. “She was actually honest, which is very rare in these interviews: a 12 pack of twisted tea on a daily basis. And I’ve got somebody who’s so incredibly young.” This, the judge said, “is something she’s going to battle for the rest of her life.”
Assistant State Attorney Tara Libby argued against withholding adjudication. She did not dispute the youthful offender status. But given the gravity of the charges, the injuries the victim suffered, that she’s not going to prison and that she tested positive for alcohol while out on bond, she should be adjudicated guilty, Libby said.
The victim wants Hayes to get help, which is why the state’s first offer skipped a prison term. “He’s never wanted her to go to prison,” Libby said.
The judge was conflicted, but in the end agreed to withhold adjudication, though she was near certain that Hayes would violate the terms.
“I feel like, very sadly, that she is going to violate, and then you can get your adjudication. I hope I’m wrong,” the judge told the prosecution. “After such a serious accident that she drank again really makes me lean towards that adjudication.” She added: “I think that she, at such a young age, has such a severe problem that I’m going to see her again,” the judge said.
Nichols sentenced Hayes with a requirement to complete the Smart program at the jail or a similar inpatient treatment, take an alcohol-safety class, 120 hours of community service, three years’ revocation of her driver’s license, and a $1,050 fine. The judge waived the costs of probation supervision.
“I need to make sure that you’re in compliance. If you screw up or you’re struggling, you need to let probation know before you test positive,” the judge told Hayes. “If you test positive and you’re not taking accountability, very sadly, the adjudication will be the least of your worries. You’re going to be looking at state prison. Can I make it any clearer?”
On Monday, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the School Board and Palm Coast government issued a joint statement cautioning drivers and ebike riders about the city’s new rules regulating ebikes in the city.
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