Witnesses see driver leave the scene after crash into a utility pole in Bloomfield

A summons to appear in Greene Superior Court has been issued to a Bloomfield man after leaving the scene of an accident and violating driving conditions following a Feb. 16 incident on South Seminary Street in Bloomfield. 

On Feb. 16, Bloomfield Police Department Officer Ryan Montgomery was dispatched to a traffic accident on South Seminary Road, near B Street in Bloomfield. Upon arrival, Montgomery found a broken utility pole but no vehicle. A witness told Montgomery he heard a loud noise and came out of his residence to find a male subject, later identified as Mark Mullis, outside his vehicle looking at the damage done after striking the utility pole. 

The witness said Mullis attempted to start his vehicle several times unsuccessfully. He was later successful in starting the vehicle and turned right off of South Seminary onto C Street and came out onto B Street where the vehicle died. At this time, the witness took pictures of the vehicle. Even though the vehicle had a flat front tire, the witness said Mullis was able to get it started and travel north on Seminary Street. The witness provided Montgomery with two photos of Mullis’s vehicle. 

A few hours later, Lt. Marvin Holt of the Bloomfield Police Department located Mullis’s vehicle at a South Seminary Street address just a few blocks north of where the accident occurred. Montgomery went to the residence and knocked on the door several times with no answer. 

On Feb. 17, Montgomery was contacted by the Greene County Sheriff’s Department stating Mullis had stopped by the department regarding a wreck he had been in. 

On Feb. 20, Montgomery spoke with Mullis via telephone. Mullis said he was driving south on Seminary Street and came around the comer and white SUV was parked on the right. Mullis said he went around the SUV but hit the curb with his front left tire and it blew out. Mullis said the blown tire caused him to lose control of his vehicle, spin out, and hit the utility pole.

Montgomery asked Mullis why he left the scene. Mullis allegedly told the officer he was convicted of operating a vehicle while intoxicated nine months proper and the accident caused him to freak out even though he had not been drinking. He said he left the scene and went to the home of a buddy. 

Montgomery informed Mullis that his driver's history showed his license was suspended which Mullis alleged he knew but said he had a conditional license. According to the probable cause affidavit, Montgomery confirmed his conditional driver’s license according to his driving history with an end date of Feb. 19, 2023. The order granting special driving privileges if out of Monroe County, Mullis said when the accident occurred, he was heading home from work and was stopping by a friend’s house. 

Mullis has been charged with: 

• Leaving the scene of an accident, driver fails to immediately stop at the scene, a Class B Misdemeanor

• Violation of Driving Conditions, a Class C Misdemeanor

He has been sent a summons to appear in Greene Superior Court on March 27.