The long-haul trucker from California who killed seven Oregon farmworkers when his 55,000-pound semitruck smashed into a parked van was sentenced to 48 years and three months in prison Tuesday.
A Marion County jury found Lincoln Smith guilty last month of seven counts of second-degree manslaughter for the fatal crash at Milepost 240 on Interstate 5 on May 18, 2023.
Smith, 54, had spent the night before the crash getting high with hitchhikers in Sutherlin and had gotten a late start to the day, but testified he was only tired, not intoxicated, when he decided to pull into the Santiam River rest stop to sleep.
He fell asleep at the wheel, veered out of the northbound lane and slammed into the van, sending it careening into another tractor-trailer parked on the roadside.
The workers, a closeknit group who lived in the Salem or Woodburn area, had finished picking beets and were heading home when the driver stopped to re-secure a travel trailer.
“This isn’t just an accident. This all stemmed from choices the defendant made,” prosecutor David Wilson said in court. “He has had prior sanctions that should have deterred this behavior.”
Wilson recited Smith’s 17 arrests and nine convictions in California, ranging from possession of a hypodermic needle in 1989 to using force with a deadly weapon in 2005, which resulted in a four-year prison sentence.
Circuit Judge Daniel Wren agreed with the prosecutor’s recommendation, and ordered each mandatory-minimum sentence to run consecutively, with no chance of time off for good behavior.
While investigators found drug paraphernalia in Smith’s cab, traces of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine in his blood and a “bullet of speed” in his pocket, the jury acquitted Smith of a single count of driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Testimony at trial cast doubt on the roadside impairment test conducted by Oregon State Police, and defense attorneys argued Smith’s tolerance for drugs meant he was no longer feeling the effects by the 2 p.m. crash.
Smith, who has three children and lived in North Highlands, California, had made several deliveries of truck canopies and camper shells for Waypoint Logistics earlier that day and hadn’t appeared impaired, other witnesses testified.
Defense attorney Tiffany Humphrey said her client had been working as a trucker for 18 years without incident and had never been found at fault in a prior crash. She asked Judge Wren to impose a 12½ year sentence.
“Falling asleep is relatable. It could happen to anyone,” Humphrey said.
In court, nearly a dozen grieving family members, as well as two of the three workers who survived the crash, told the court their lives had been torn apart — their wounds, both physical and psychological, never to heal.
A widow who didn’t identify herself said that Eduardo Lopez Lopez, 32, had worked tirelessly to support their two children — but their 12-year marriage was defined not by work but the mutual respect and love they shared.
“Eddie was not just a provider, he was our everything,” she said in a statement read in court. “Now our home feels unbearably empty. I’ve run out of words to comfort my children.”
Another man who didn’t give his name said he had two children with his wife, Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio, 39.
“It has not been easy to be a mom and a dad,” he said through an interpreter. “All the plans, all the dreams are gone.”
READ MORE: Camionero de California culpable de matar a 7 trabajadores agrícolas en accidente de la I-5 en Oregón
Maria Flores-Martinez approached Judge Wren with a photograph clasped in her hands, a picture of herself harvesting crops in happier days. Now she cannot move her neck and walks only with a mobility device.
Jose Eduardo Solis-Flores, who also survived the crash, said he was napping in the back of the van when he suddenly woke up. He found himself immobilized on the pavement, blood trickling down his face.
“That would be the beginning of a nightmare that still has not ended,” he said, as he addressed the court by phone.
Smith, wearing a dress shirt with a chain around his waist, rubbed his forehead. He rose and apologized, saying he was not cold and heartless, but accepted responsibility for falling asleep and killing the workers.
“I just want to apologize to all the families,” he said. “If I could trade my life for any of theirs, I would do it, right today.”
The other fatalities in the crash were Juan Carlos Leyva-Carrillo, 37; Gabriel Juarez-Tovilla, 58; Luis Enrique Gomez-Reyes, 30; Alejandro Jimenez Hernandez, 36; and Josue Garcia-Garcia, 30.
The other injured man is Ibis Torres Rangel. Only the driver, who was outside the vehicle, escaped without physical injuries, though his wife testified he was haunted by PTSD.
It was the deadliest crash on Oregon roads since 2012, when nine tourists were killed when their bus crashed on Interstate 84.
Judge Wren set restitution open for 60 days as prosecutors tally funeral expenses.
He said Smith had been behind the wheel of a “30-ton bullet,” noting that Smith gave no explanation for why he kept driving while sleepy, except the fear of getting a ticket.
“He should have known better,” Wren said.
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