Police: Semi-truck driver in Oregon I-5 crash that killed 7 charged with DUI, manslaughter

SALEM, Oregon – The driver of a semi-truck involved in one of Oregon’s deadliest highway crashes that left seven people dead and injured four others on Interstate 5 is being charged for allegedly driving under the influence of intoxicants, according to Oregon State Police.

Lincoln Smith, 52, of North Highlands, California, was arraigned on Friday at the Marion County Court Annex for charges including manslaughter, driving under the influence, reckless driving and assault. He was being held without bail in Marion County Jail.

Smith, who was driving in the northbound lanes between Salem and Albany at about 2 p.m. local time Thursday, crashed into a van killing seven people and injuring four others. All victims were passengers in the van.

Six people died at the scene and one victim was later pronounced dead at a hospital, Oregon State Police said in a news release. Four others were hospitalized with various injuries.

PCUN, the state’s largest Latino farmworkers union, and Mexican officials said the 11 people in the van were all farmworkers.

The crash is one of the deadliest in Oregon in recent years.

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How police say the crash happened

Police said Smith’s 18-wheeler left the northbound lane of Interstate 5 and hit a Ford Econoline van with 11 people inside. The impact pushed the van into the trailer of another 18-wheeler. The driver of the other truck was not injured.

A district attorney said witnesses reported the truck had been weaving on and off the road and hit the van without applying the brakes. The white van at the scene was crushed. Straw sun hats and shovels could be seen among the wreckage.

Six people who were in the van were declared dead at the scene. Another person was taken from the scene in a helicopter and died while they were being taken to a hospital. Police said the other four people in the van suffered various injuries and were transported by ambulance to hospitals.

The victims in the crash are not being named, police said, until their families have been notified.

The husband of one of the dead told the judge through an interpreter that their 1-year-old son asked for his mother on Friday.

“My future is destroyed,” he said.

Driver charged for allegedly driving under the influence

Smith was transported from the scene for medical treatment. Police said he was then arrested and taken to Marion County Jail.