SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon jury on Wednesday discovered a truck driver responsible of manslaughter in a collision on Interstate 5 that killed seven farmworkers in 2023 in one of many state’s deadliest freeway crashes.
Lincoln Smith was convicted of seven counts of second-degree manslaughter in addition to reckless driving, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Traces of methamphetamine, fentanyl and morphine had been present in Smith’s blood later at a hospital, and state troopers discovered a “bullet of speed” within the pocket of his pants, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
The victims had been recognized as Juan Carlos Leyva-Carrillo, 37; Gabriel Juarez-Tovilla, 58; Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio, 39; Eduardo Lopez-Lopez, 31; Luis Enrique Gomez-Reyes, 30; Alejandro Jimenez-Hernandez, 36; and Josue Garcia-Garcia, 30.
The crash occurred in Could 2023, when Smith’s semitruck ran right into a van carrying farmworkers that was parked on the aspect of Interstate 5 close to Albany, an agricultural space of the Willamette Valley.
Albany lies between the state capital Salem and Eugene, and is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of Portland. I-5 is the primary north-south interstate freeway on the West Coast.