JOHN MILLS - COURTESY FAMILY 5-17-2024 edit.jpg

The victim hit and killed by a PGA shuttle in front of the Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Ky. has been identified as John Mills.  (Image courtesy of the Mills family) May 17, 2024

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The family of a man who died after he was hit by a shuttle bus May 17 outside the Valhalla Golf Club while trying to enter the course for his job as a security guard during the 2024 PGA Championship filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the club, the PGA Tour and the PGA of America.

John Mills, 69, of Crestwood in Oldham County, was hit around 5 a.m. in the 15500 block of Shelbyville Road by a bus owned by Fullington Trailways, a Pennsylvania transportation company, as he was crossing Shelbyville Road to get into the club.

His family previously told WDRB that "he was working security and having a fun time at Valhalla this week. He enjoyed staying busy in retirement. We love him and will miss him."

Mills, a married father of four, died of blunt-force injuries.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 2 in Jefferson Circuit Court, claims Mills had to cross five lanes to enter Valhalla from where he parked and there was "no designated method or planned area to cross Shelbyville Road."

In addition, there were no streetlights, signage, traffic control or safe crossing areas to get to Valhalla, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which names 10 defendants, is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial. 

Defendants in the case could not immediately be reached for comment. 

About an hour after Mills was killed, a detective directing traffic near the accident scene tried to stop Scottie Scheffler — who was at the time and remains ranked No. 1 in the world — as he attempted to drive around traffic stopped for the wreck in a marked PGA car to enter Valhalla.

Scheffler "refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground," according to the arrest report.

Scheffler was arrested near Valhalla Gate One a few minutes later. Police said he failed to follow directions and injured an LMPD detective with his vehicle.

A Louisville judge dismissed charges May 29 against at the request of prosecutors and his defense attorney. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell told Jefferson District Court Judge Anne Delahanty that Scheffler's assertion that the incident was a "big misunderstanding" was "corroborated by the evidence."

This story may be updated. 

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