LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Before Scottie Scheffler was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club ahead the second round PGA Championship, a man was hit and killed by a shuttle bus. Now, his family is suing. 

The family of John Mills, 69, of Crestwood, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the club, PGA Tour, PGA of America the shuttle company and the driver.

"John was so excited about having this job, so excited about having this job, even with early morning report and every bit of it in the late nights," attorney Ann Oldfather said during a news conference Friday.

Mills 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.

He had volunteered to work security at the event.

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."

Louisville attorneys Oldfather and Chad Gardner are representing the Mills family. 

According to the PGA event map, one designated "pathway" provided a route connecting the rideshare lot to the gates. The complaint identifies lot "C" as the designated lot for volunteers. Both the rideshare lot and lot "C" are south of Shelbyville Road. The golf course is north of it. 

Download PDF Map of Valhalla Golf Club for 2024 PGA Championship

"There were zero lights," Oldfather said. "It was pitch black, and there was no requirement to use any particular place. It was 'Get across Shelbyville Road, because the parking we're going to give you is over here on the other side.'"

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

"It's not just John Mills," Gardner said. "It's every John who was crossing that road that morning or who may cross that road for an event like this again in Louisville, Kentucky, or anywhere else. We hope that that things will take place to make improvements so something like this doesn't happen again."

Gardner and Oldfather both touched on the impact the loss of Mills has had on the entire family. He was a husband, father and grandfather. 

"He was active, he was energetic, he was young, and sports is one of the things that he not only loved to attend but he loved to teach," Gardner said. "He would teach Little Leaguers how to play ball. One of the things the family was talking about that really hit home shortly after this (incident) happened is they went to the first baseball game with a grandson, where John was always on the fence watching every minute of the game, and the fence was empty."

The PGA of America hasn't responded to WDRB's request to 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.

"Mr. Scheffler has been admirable in his private efforts to pass on to the family his condolences and his embarrassment for the fact that what would happen to him took precedence in the media coverage over the lifelong change their family has gone through," Gardner said.

Scheffler was arrested near Valhalla Gate One a few minutes later. Police said he failed to follow directions and injured a Louisville Metro Police detective with his vehicle. According to the arrest report, he "refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Bryan Gillis to the ground."

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."

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