Following final statements in the trial of a California semitruck driver accused of killing seven people in an accident on Interstate 5, jurors were still deliberating.
In addition to minor charges of reckless driving and DUII, Lincoln Clayton Smith, 54, is charged with three felony counts of third-degree assault and seven counts of felony second-degree manslaughter.
The Marion County Courthouse in Salem is hosting the trial for the May 2023 crash, which occurred just north of the Marion-Linn County line. During the opening statements on Tuesday, January 28, Smith’s defense team contended that he was not impaired by alcohol and that he fell asleep while driving.
In her closing statement, defense lawyer Tiffany Humphrey stated that there is no question that this was a tragedy. It is a tragedy for our community, their friends, and their families.
Not every tragedy has a criminal component. Tragedies like this one are occasionally noncriminal.
When Smith’s Freightliner slid onto the I-5 shoulder and collided with a Ford Econoline passenger van, authorities say he had fentanyl, cocaine, and meth in his system. Smith had been a truck driver for almost 20 years. Three individuals suffered significant injuries, six people died at the scene, and one person was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The people inside the vehicle were farm laborers going home for the day. According to court filings, one of the 11 employees was outside checking on a trailer they were pulling as they were parked on the side of the road behind a Target delivery truck close to the Santiam River Rest Area in Jefferson.
The van was crushed against the parked truck by the semi. It is thought to be the deadliest freeway collision since a 24-car collision on I-5 south of Albany in 1988, which left seven people dead and 38 injured.
Despite purportedly having bloodshot eyes and constricted pupils, Smith denied using drugs or alcohol when questioned by Oregon State Police at the scene of the collision.
After Smith was treated for minor wounds at the hospital, a trooper inspected his baggage and discovered a little plastic bullet that contained meth. Smith acknowledged smoking meth the day before, according to Spooner.
Judge Daniel Wren rejected a defense request for acquittal before closing arguments, arguing that there was not enough evidence or testimony to establish Smith’s incapacity or recklessness beyond a reasonable doubt.
By pointing to conflicting expert testimony and Smith’s understanding of the dangers of exhaustion, prosecutor David Wilson argued that there was enough evidence to send the case to a jury.
Since May 2023, Smith has been detained at the Marion County Jail without being granted bond.
Corvallis Gazette-Times, Oregon, 2025. Check out GazetteTimes.com. Tribune Content Agency, LLC is the distributor.
