Man charged in fatal hit-and-run accident on Alexis Road, more charges loom

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – A man accused of colliding with a bicyclist while drunk and then driving away, killing a 30-year-old, is facing new charges.

A Lucas County grand jury indicted Kenneth Pegler, 55, of Temperance, Michigan, on August 22 for tampering with evidence. Just days earlier, he was indicted on two counts of aggravated vehicular manslaughter, two counts of failure to stop after an accident and driving under the influence of alcohol. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Pegler is charged in connection with the hit-and-run that killed 30-year-old Nicholas Reinhart.

The crash occurred on July 30 at approximately 2:40 a.m. on Alexis Road in front of Dollar General and Applebee's. According to the indictment, Pegler was at three different bars before the fatal crash and drank at least two beers and five shots of liquor from midnight until approximately 2:40 a.m. at the last bar. According to the police affidavit, video evidence shows Pegler stumbling to his truck and falling out while trying to get in, just minutes before the crash.

Police also say Pegler contacted a friend the day after the hit-and-run crash and said he saw the accident on the news, but still did not contact police until his formal arraignment on August 3 in Toledo Municipal Court. He was booked into the Lucas County Jail on August 5.

According to police, Pegler was driving a white Dodge pickup truck westbound on Alexis Road and struck Reinhart, who was riding a bicycle westbound on Alexis Road. The truck struck the rear of the bicycle, which then became lodged under the truck. The truck continued driving and the bicycle fell out from under it several feet down the road. Reinhart was taken to an area hospital and succumbed to his injuries.

According to court records in Michigan, this is not the first time Pegler has injured someone while driving. In 2023, Pegler crashed his car into a house on Sterns Road, injuring two people, and then drove away from the scene. Last month, Pegler was charged in that crash, but his history of traffic violations stretches back more than a decade.

In 2014, Pegler was found guilty of reckless driving and in 2021 of driving under the influence of alcohol.

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