Drunk Driver Kills Wilsonville Man In Front Of His Wife: Sheriff

WILSONVILLE, OR — A Molalla man with a history of drunk driving convictions was arrested Friday after side-swiping a pulled over van on the Portland-Hubbard Highway, killing the driver who'd exited the vehicle on the emergency shoulder, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Kenneth Lloyd Pepperling, 59, was taken to the Clackamas County Jail for manslaughter, driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII), reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person, and criminal driving while suspended or revoked.

Pepperling was already facing a felony DUII charge from an incident in October 2017, for which a warrant was issued for his arrest in November. It's unclear whether Pepperling was arrested on that warrant prior to his arrest Friday.

Pepperling also has two other DUII arrests on his record from 2006 and 2011, respectively.

Around 6:40 p.m. Jan. 5, sheriff's deputies were reportedly dispatched to a two-car crash on Highway 551, near the overpass off Interstate-5 Exit 282A.

At the scene, deputies reportedly learned Pepperling was traveling south in his 2001 Ford F350 when he side-swiped the left side of a 1997 Ford Econoline van that was pulled onto the shoulder. Having just exited the van's driver's side, 56-year-old Wilsonville resident Christopher Allen Kelleher was struck and killed before Pepperling crashed into the I-5 overpass wall.

Kelleher's passenger, 56-year-old Gina Rose Marie Kelleher, was uninjured, authorities said.

Pepperling was scheduled for arraignment Jan. 8.

Patch has reached out to the Clackamas County Sheriff's and District Attorney's offices and will update this post with more information when it's available.

Images via Clackamas County Sheriff's Office