A head-on car collision on the Cortez Bridge ended with one vehicle plowing through a guardrail, one arrest and traffic backed up for more than an hour.
Jeffrey S. Hills, 57, of Bradenton, was arrested at about 4:30 p.m. March 25 for driving under the influence and leaving a crash scene with property damage, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report.
Just before the collision, the bridge bascule was in the up position and Hills, driving a Lincoln Continental, and another motorist, Todd Saylor, of Cortez, were stopped on opposite sides of the bascule.
According to Saylor, his BMW led a line of cars westbound after the gate opened. Hills’ vehicle “broke out of the pack,” crossed the center line and struck Saylor head-on at the center of the bridge, he said.
A witness confirmed Saylor’s statement to the MCSO.
After the collision, Saylor approached Hills’ vehicle and observed Hills slumped over and smelling “like a brewery,” Saylor said.
Hills then sat up, allegedly drove backward in the westbound lane for about a quarter mile and crashed into a guardrail.
Bradenton Beach Police Department responded and called an MCSO deputy, who determined Hills was impaired by alcohol and/or depressants after he failed field sobriety tests.
Hills’ blood alcohol content measured .073 and .070. The legal limit is .08. Hills also provided a urine sample, according to the MCSO report.
At press time, Hills was being held in the Manatee County jail. His bond was set $10,000 and his court date was not yet available.