Semi-truck driver gets 48 years in prison for Oregon crash that killed 7 farmworkers

SALEM, Ore. — A California truck driver who killed seven farmworkers in 2023 when he crashed into a van off Interstate 5 in Oregon has been sentenced to nearly 50 years in prison.

Lincoln Smith, 54, was unanimously found guilty by a 12-person jury in February for seven counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of third-degree assault, and one count of reckless driving. He was acquitted of driving under the influence.

The jury reached a decision the day after closing arguments, following about 9 hours of deliberation. The trial lasted seven days with five days of evidence. Prosecutors called almost 30 witnesses, while defense attorneys called six, concluding with Smith.

On Tuesday, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Wren chose to impose the time for the manslaughter and assault charges consecutively, totaling 579 months, or 48 years and three months.

“There’s nothing I can say today that’s gonna take away or replace the pain and the loss,” Wren said. “They were just out there working, looking forward to coming home and seeing their families, and now they don’t get to do that because Mr. Smith did not pull over to the side of the road when he realized two hours before that he should have.”

Seven family members of the deceased and the three survivors all shared statements with the court. They spoke about the devastation the crash caused, the emotional and physical suffering they continue to endure, and the ongoing grieving.

Many survivors said they came to the U.S. looking for a better life and were hard workers who always followed the law. Several cried throughout their testimony.

Smith also appeared emotional throughout the proceedings. His lawyers had asked for a sentence of 12 years and six months.

“Mr. Smith never intended to hurt anyone,” defense attorney Tiffany Humphrey said. “He will think about this incident every day for the rest of his life.”

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I-5 crash among the deadliest in Oregon history

The collision occurred on May 18, 2023, when Smith’s semi-truck veered off the highway near Albany, Oregon, an agricultural area about 25 miles south of Salem.

The 53-foot, 55,000-pound semi-truck struck a passenger van and pushed it into another parked semi-truck, according to prosecutors and Smith’s attorneys. The van was propelled 218 feet from the point of impact, prosecutors added.

At the time of the incident, PCUN — Oregon’s largest Latino farmworkers union — and Mexican officials said the 11 people in the van were all farmworkers. Six people died at the scene, and a seventh died in a helicopter on the way to the hospital.

Three others were seriously injured and testified during the trial that they continue to experience constant pain.

According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, the crash is among the deadliest in the state’s history.

‘Where is mom?’: Family members share statements at sentencing

Survivors of the crash and family members of those who were killed spoke for about two hours on Tuesday. Several family members remain in Mexico and were unable to attend the sentencing but they provided statements to be read in court.

The mother of Luis Enrique Gomez Reyes, said the loss of her son was so profound she felt like she would never be able to enjoy life again. The widow of Eduardo Lopez-Lopez said she didn’t learn her husband had died until two days after the crash and she was robbed of closure.

The husband of Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio appeared in court Tuesday, identifying himself only as Francisco. He said he’s struggled to be both a mother and a father to the couple’s son.

“The day after the accident, my son woke up and went looking for his mom in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the bedroom, and with his hands, he motioned, ‘Where is mom?’” he said. “What am I going to say to a one-and-a-half-year-old, that his mother is no longer with us? That a person took her life?”

He said his wife was an engineer in Mexico and he was a business owner, but they chose to come to the U.S. for a better life. He concluded his testimony by shaking the judge’s hand and sharing a photo of him with his wife and child.

Maria Flores-Martinez, who survived the crash, said she will never be the same person she was before.

Half of her head and back are numb now and she can’t move her neck, she said. Flores-Martinez said she’s the third generation living in Oregon in her family and she had always thought she’d retire of age, rather than disability.

“While I was resting that night in order to be ready for the following morning and to go to work, Mr. Smith was partying it up,” she said.

Driver said he fell asleep at the wheel on the day of the crash

Smith was driving north on I-5 from Woodland, California, carrying truck canopies and camper shells.

The night before the crash, Smith said in his testimony to the court he used meth and cocaine with a couple of hitchhikers but said he was no longer feeling the effects of the drugs when he got up around 6:30 a.m. local time the next day.

But by noon, he started feeling tired, decided to stop for the day, and began looking for a place to park his truck, he told the court. He checked two rest stops, found both were full, and headed on to the Santiam River rest stop in Marion County.

Drivers near or behind Smith on the road testified at trial they saw him swerving on and off the road before the crash. One woman called 911 after witnessing a Jeep veer off the road to avoid getting hit by Smith.

Smith got into the exit lane for the rest stop but said he fell asleep, missed the exit, and collided with the van.

Witnesses described the crash as a gruesome and violent scene. Emergency responders said it was the most horrific incident they’d ever seen. One emergency responder testified medics struggled initially to determine how many people had been in the van because of the severity of the damage.

Prosecutors argued Smith was reckless in choosing to use drugs

Prosecutors argued Smith was experiencing the “downside” of meth, which causes extreme lethargy. They argued he acted recklessly by choosing to use drugs the previous night and by failing to stop driving when he knew he was tired.

Lab tests showed Smith, who had been driving trucks for almost 19 years and used drugs on and off since he was 12 years old, had meth, cocaine and fentanyl in his bloodstream, prosecutors said.

During three hours of testimony, Randall Walker, the Oregon State Police officer who evaluated Smith for signs of intoxication after the crash, reaffirmed his belief Smith was under the influence at the time of the crash.

Smith, he said, had constricted pupils, struggled to answer questions about where he had been driving, and was often slow to respond. In body camera footage played in court, Smith could not recollect his phone number but did recall his girlfriend’s number and his home address.

“I’m getting really dizzy, I can’t remember (expletive),” he said in the footage. “I just can’t focus.”

At the hospital, Walker asked Smith if he could search his clothes. He found a vial in Smith’s pocket that he said contained meth and acknowledged using the previous day, despite previously denying drug usage, according to the footage.

While stimulants typically cause people to be more alert, Walker said users of meth could experience a “downside” after the fact and cited Smith’s poor driving before the crash as evidence of impairment.

“At the end of the high there’s a low,” he said. “The downside of meth is that they are lethargic and sleepy and have a hard time staying awake.”

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Defense attorneys argued Smith was tired and trying to find parking, not high or reckless

The second-degree manslaughter charges hinged on whether Smith was acting recklessly. Defense attorneys argued Smith was not acting recklessly, saying he was no longer under the influence, was not experiencing the downside, and began attempting to find parking when he became tired.

Laws regulate where trucks are allowed to park for long periods, meaning Smith couldn’t just pull over anywhere when he decided to call it a day. His attorneys claimed the symptoms Walker observed as signs of being under the influence were actual signs of shock resulting from the crash.

“He was just in the middle of a grisly scene,” Humphrey said. “He was in a high-impact crash.”

Multiple witnesses for the defense, including the paramedic who evaluated Smith at the scene, testified Smith’s vitals, pupils and demeanor were normal and he did not appear to be under the influence.

Drug evaluation expert witnesses who reviewed police and medical records and body camera footage testified Smith was not displaying symptoms consistent with the downside of meth and any effects from drugs taken the previous night would most likely have worn off.

Smith testified he was under pressure to make his deliveries on time but recognized he was too tired that day and needed to stop early.

In two emails Smith wrote that prosecutors asked Walker to read to the court, Smith described the day of the crash as “the worst day of my life.”

“I’m upset with myself for letting this happen but I’m not ashamed of myself,” Smith said in an email. “Truck drivers fall asleep every day.”

Isabel Funk covers breaking news and public safety for the Statesman Journal. Funk can be reached at ifunk@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @isabeldfunk

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Truck driver sentenced for 2023 Oregon crash that killed 7 farmworkers