By Brandi Makuski

A Milladore man has been arrested on his sixth OWI offense following a high-speed chase with Portage Co. deputies.

57-year-old Michael Cummins was pulled over after a deputy noticed he was swerving and crossing the center line on County Hwy. P at about 10:42 PM. When he spoke with Cummins, the deputy noticed his eyes were glossy and there was an odor of alcohol on his breath.

When asked for his drivers license, Cummins initially handed the deputy his EBT card, according to the complaint.

When deputies returned to their squad car to run a check on his license, they discovered he had five prior convictions for operating while intoxicated. When they returned to Cummins’ vehicle, they saw he’d fallen asleep behind the wheel.

When a deputy woke Cummins and asked him to exit the vehicle, Cummins instead drove away, kicking off a high-speed pursuit.

The ensuing chase exceeded 100 miles per hour, according to the complaint, which ended on County Hwy. F just past Hwy 10 in Wood County.

“Due to the danger that Cummins posed to the public, at an appropriate location and speed, deputies utilized a pursuit intervention technique (PIT), which caused Cummins to spin out and stop,” Chief Deputy Dan Kontos said.

Following the spin out, Cummins lost control and crashed his vehicle, which came to a rest on its roof, and Cummins was ejected. Deputies found him in the roadway about 60 feet from the final vehicle’s resting location.

No other vehicles were involved. Deputies rendered first aid until emergency medical crews arrived.

Cummins was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield with non-life threatening injuries, and later released to the Portage Co. Jail.

The Wood Co. Sheriff’s Office was also at the scene, and were asked to conduct an investigation of both the PIT
and the crash, which is standard protocol.

Cummins has been charged with his sixth OWI offense, as well as felony fleeing an officer, driving with unreasonable and imprudent speed, operating left of center and other traffic-related charges.

Cummins was before Judge Thomas Flugaur on Oct. 20, where he was given a $1500 cash bond. He returns to court on Nov. 7.