PORTLAND, Ore. (DDN) – Jury selection began on Monday in the trial of Lincoln Smith, a semi-truck driver charged with a 2023 incident on Interstate 5 that killed seven farm workers.
On May 18, 2023, police officers responded to a three-vehicle collision on I-5 near the Santiam River Rest Area between Albany and Salem. According to Oregon State Police, a semi-truck heading northbound veered off the road and collided with an 11-person passenger van. The vehicle was thrown into another semi-truck, which was parked. Six of the persons in the van died on the scene, and a seventh died in the hospital.
According to the state’s farmworkers organization, all seven of the victims who perished were agricultural laborers returning home from harvest work. The driver of the parked semi-truck was uninjured.
Smith, a California resident, was apprehended by police. On May 30, 2023, a grand jury in Marion County Court indicted him on 12 counts, including seven counts of manslaughter, reckless driving, and driving while intoxicated, according to court documents.
During his arraignment on May 19, 2023, a district attorney stated that Smith refused a field sobriety test and was unable to answer basic questions, according to the Salem Statesman Journal. According to the newspaper, the prosecutor also stated that Smith admitted to speeding the day before the incident and owned methamphetamine.
Smith is being held without bond in the Marion County jail, according to the sheriff’s office website. His trial is anticipated to begin with opening remarks on Tuesday, at the most.
The Oregon State Police previously revealed the names, ages, and residences of individuals who died:
- Eduardo Lopez (31), of Gervais
- Alejandro Jimenez Hernandez, 36, from Gervais
- Josue Garcia Garcia, 30, from Salem
- Luis Enrique Gomez Reyes, 30, from Woodburn
- Javier Suarez, 58, from Woodburn
- Alejandra Espinoza Carpio is 39.
- Juan Carlos Leyva Carrillo (37), of Woodburn
Reference: Jury selection starts in trial of semi-truck driver accused of I-5 crash that killed 7 farmworkers
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