Daren Bowlby Sentenced to 7.5 Years—Classic Hits 100.7 KLOG News

It has been just over a year since a head-on wrong-way crash killed 57-year-old semi-truck driver Brian Campbell of Salem, and the court proceedings have now come to an end. Yesterday, 59-year-old Daren Bowlby of Castle Rock was in Cowlitz County Superior Court and officially entered a guilty plea to vehicular homicide. He has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, followed by a year and a half of community custody. The sentence also includes other stipulations, like a substance-abuse evaluation, and his license has been revoked.

Bowlby spoke in front of a loud and angry packed courtroom, reading apologies for what he called a bad decision that hurt many. According to Bowlby, on the night of November 21st, he had been celebrating his grandchild’s birthday, seeing patients from his chiropractic business, and golfing at the Longview Country Club. After that, he went to drink at the club bar. He says he doesn’t remember leaving—just waking up at the hospital after the crash.

That night, Bowlby eventually drove the wrong way on I-5 near the Lexington Bridge, colliding with the semi driven by Campbell. Campbell was taken to the hospital, where he died two days later.

Campbell’s relatives are pursuing a wrongful-death lawsuit against Bowlby and his wife, as well as the Longview Country Club.