ALBANY – A 52-year-old California man has been charged with manslaughter in Thursday’s crash on Interstate 5, one of the deadliest in Oregon history; state police troopers believe he was intoxicated.
Court documents allege Lincoln Clayton Smith was “under the influence of intoxicants” when the tractor-trailer he was driving left the northbound lane of Interstate 5 and collided with a parked passenger van, killing seven and injuring four occupants Thursday afternoon, May 18 near Millersburg.
Police say the northbound truck drove onto the east shoulder, striking a Ford Econoline passenger van occupied by 11 people, according to an Oregon State Police news release.
The tractor-trailer pushed the van, crushing the van against another commercial motor vehicle parked on the shoulder near the Santiam River Rest Area.
Responders declared six passengers dead at the scene. An air ambulance transported another who was declared dead at a hospital, according to the news release.
Police arrested Smith, from North Highlands, California on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, seven counts of second-degree manslaughter and three counts of third-degree assault.
Thursday’s crash is believed to be the deadliest since 1988 when 24 cars collided on I-5 south of Albany. Officials blamed smoke blowing over the freeway and diminished visibility for the chain reaction wreck that killed seven and injured 38.
On Thursday, motorists were halted in the northbound side of the rest area, vehicles parked on a freeway on ramp while ambulances filled the roadway.
Fire and police officials erected a barrier and hung a tarp from the van’s remains while personnel from the Marion County Medical Examiner’s Office examined the scene.
Vehicles driving around the wreck flooded nearby highways, slowing traffic to a few miles per hour on Old Salem Road Northeast.
Following the crash, the northbound freeway was closed for multiple hours as law enforcement and crash reconstruction teams investigated. Northbound I-5 traffic remained backed up to Grand Prairie Road Southeast by 6:45 p.m., about 9 miles south. By around 8:39 p.m. Thursday, one lane of northbound I-5 had reopened, according to an ODOT news release.
Smith is scheduled to be arraigned in Marion County Circuit Court on Friday afternoon, May 19 on seven counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of third-degree assault, reckless driving and DUII.
Court documents filed with Marion County Circuit Court allege Smith unlawfully and recklessly caused the death of seven different individuals and also unlawfully and recklessly caused serious physical injury to three other victims by means of a dangerous weapon: a tractor-trailer.
Troopers were at the scene for about eight hours, according to an agency spokesperson. They seized the van as evidence and all three vehicles were towed from the freeway shoulder.
Credit: Source link
