MARION COUNTY, OR - A Marion County jury found the defendant, California resident Lincoln Smith (54 years), guilty of seven counts of Manslaughter in the Second Degree for recklessly causing the deaths of seven people, and guilty of three counts of Assault in the Third Degree for recklessly causing serious physical injury to three other people, resulting from a crash he caused on I-5 on May 18, 2023.
The jury also returned a guilty verdict on one count of Reckless Driving and a not guilty verdict on one count of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.
The defendant was driving a semitruck on I-5 north of Albany and south of Salem when he went off the road and crashed into a passenger van and another semitruck that were parked along the shoulder of the highway. The passenger van contained 10 people at the time of the crash who were returning home from work and an additional person was outside of the vehicle at the time of the collision.
The deceased victims are:
Juan Carlos Leyva-Carrillo
Gabriel Juarez-Tovilla
Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio
Eduardo Lopez-Lopez
Luis Enrique Gomez-Reyes
Alejandro Jimenez Hernandez
Josue Garcia-Garcia
The injured victims are:
Jose Eduardo Solis-Flores
Maria Flores-Martinez
Ibis Torres Rangel
The defendant admitted to using methamphetamine and cocaine the night before the crash and tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. In addition, his semitruck contained a bag of 16.6 grams of methamphetamine and various drug paraphernalia, including hypodermic needles and a small scale.
The case, prosecuted by Marion County Deputy District Attorneys David Wilson and Jessica Spooner before the Honorable Dan Wren, began Monday, January 27th. Jurors heard testimony from witnesses over a five-day period spanning from Tuesday, January 28th through Monday, February 3rd. The case concluded on Wednesday, February 4th when jurors heard closing arguments and began deliberations.
The jury deliberated for approximately nine and a half hours before returning a verdict the afternoon of Wednesday, February 5th.
The defendant remains in custody at the Marion County Jail.
Sentencing has yet to be scheduled before Judge Wren.
- Manslaughter in the Second Degree is a Class B Felony and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 75 months in prison for each count.
- Assault 3 is a Class C Felony and carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison for each count. The court will determine whether those sentences should run consecutively, but that is legally allowable under Oregon law for separate victims.
- Reckless Driving is a Class A Misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail.
The Marion County District Attorney's Office wishes to thank the Oregon State Police for their thorough and professional investigation of this tragedy.
