Man Who Struck and Killed Woman Won't Be Charged

A man who has been under a cloud of suspicion since March when he struck and killed a pedestrian will not be charged, the Clackamas County District Attorney announced Tuesday. They said the investigation - conducted with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office - backed up the alibi of Brian Schaffer.

The investigation had started the morning of March 3 when the body of Katherine Rusk was found on the side of the road at Southeast 282nd Avenue and Southeast Haley Road. Investigators determined that she had been struck and killed the night before - most likely by a Ford F150.

The Sheriff's Office put out a call for tops and one of those responded was 53-year-old Schaffer who said he might have relevant information.

Schaffer told detectives that he had been driving home from a job site when he thought he hit a deer. He told them that he had turned his truck around to look for the deer and couldn't find anything. The street was unlit and it had been raining heavily.

Detectives obtained search warrants for Mr. Schaffer's residence, person and financial records. They inspected the involved truck, where items of evidence were seized. Detectives also canvassed the neighborhood of the crash scene, Schaffer's work and the neighborhood surrounding his residence. They obtained surveillance video from nearby businesses and examined Schaffer's Internet search history from his computer.

But it was a piece of navigation technology that proved crucial in the case -- and fully corroborated Schaffer's explanation of events.

The sheriff's office says that a Garmin GPS unit was located in the vehicle -- and the data from this unit confirmed the path stated by Mr. Schaffer, in the timeframe he reported. Garmin data showed that the truck's path of travel conformed precisely with Schaffer's description of events. Investigators further determined that Schaffer had consumed no drugs or alcohol, was not texting while driving, and had had a reasonable amount of sleep at the time his vehicle struck Ms. Rusk.

Investigators uncovered further evidence that Ms. Rusk had consumed alcohol prior to the incident, and had been seen walking in the roadway.

Photo of Schaffer Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Photo of Rusk Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.