Driver may face homicide charge in fatal Sudden Valley crash

4 hurt; alcohol use suspected as pickup plows into tree

ISABELLE DILLS - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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A Bellingham man is facing charges of vehicular homicide after an early morning crash in which one man was killed and four others injured Sunday, Oct. 4, in Sudden Valley.

All five men were in a 2005 Dodge Ram pickup that was heading west on Sudden Valley Drive about 2 a.m. when it veered off the road and struck a tree, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A 57-year-old man from Zillah, a city southeast of Yakima, died after being transported by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital. His name is being withheld pending family notification.

The other four men, who are all from Bellingham, were transported to St. Joseph Hospital with injuries. The driver, Robert Milan, 41, remained in the intensive-care unit late Sunday afternoon. Information on the condition of the other three passengers - Michael Peppers, 25; Nick Peppers, 26; and Wade Bucher, 30 - was not immediately available.

None of the men were wearing their seat belts, and alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash, according to the Washington State Patrol.