SEQUIM — A 36-year-old Sequim man authorities said refused to take a breathalyzer test had bail set at $20,000 Monday on charges of driving under the influence and eluding a pursuing police vehicle after he allegedly barely missed getting into a collision at a roundabout shortly before midnight Saturday.
Nicholas Edward Mills was driving 40 mph in a 25-mph zone at 11:31 p.m. Saturday northbound on North Sequim Avenue when Sequim Police Officer Cory Hall activated his siren and warning-light array and began pursuing Mills, Hall said in his probable cause statement.
Mills accelerated to an unknown speed in his black 1999 BMW before reaching the roundabout at Olympic Highway and North Sequim Avenue, Sgt. John Southard said.
The driver cut left through the southbound travel lane of the roundabout, Hall said in the statement, adding another vehicle was approaching the traffic circle as he arrived.
“If the vehicle had entered the roundabout second earlier, there would have likely been a T-bone collision in the roundabout with the suspect vehicle as it cut through the wrong lane.”
Mills drove off the sidewalk and over a street sign, leaving a trail of vehicle parts before parking a block away from the traffic circle, the vehicle’s right-side front tire flat.
Mills smelled of alcohol, was slurring his speech during the arrest, and was “staggering” while talking to hospital staff during the blood draw, Hall said.
Mills will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
