Semi driver in court for DUII, manslaughter charges after deadly I-5 crash near Albany

By Adrian Thomas and Web Staff

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    MARION COUNTY, Oregon (KPTV) — A 52-year-old California man made his first court appearance Friday to face charges related to a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 north of Albany that killed seven people and injured four others on Thursday.

According to police, Lincoln Clayton Smith was driving a semi with a canvas-sided livestock trailer north on I-5. At about 2 p.m. Thursday near the Santiam Rest Area, the semi “left the roadway” on the right-hand side, police said.

The semi that Smith was driving struck a Ford passenger van carrying 11 people and smashed it into another parked semi, police said.

Six people in the van were declared dead at the scene, and another person died after being rushed by helicopter to the hospital. Four more people in the van were injured and taken by ambulance to medical care. According to family statements in court, the victims were all migrant farm workers.

The driver of the second semi was unhurt.

Smith was given a medical evaluation and then later arrested and lodged at the Marion County Jail. Police said his charges include driving under the influence, reckless driving, seven counts of second-degree manslaughter and three counts of third-degree assault.

At Smith’s first court appearance on Friday, prosecutors said he was found with methamphetamines and admitted to using speed the day before. Police also said he was incoherent at the scene.

Smith has a record of 17 arrests and nine past convictions, prosecutors said. He was ordered to be held without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 30.

Detectives are continuing to investigate the crash, police said.

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