On March 4, 2025, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Daniel J Wren sentenced Lincoln Smith (54) to 579 months (48.25 years) in the Department of Corrections for crimes he committed by crashing into a parked van on May 18,2023.
Judge Wren sentenced Smith to 75 months in the Department of Corrections for each conviction of Manslaughter in the Second degree, and 18 months for each conviction of Assault III with each sentence to be served consecutively without the possibility for a reduction in sentence of any kind. Smith received a sentence of 364 days for Reckless driving, running concurrently to the other charges. Before pronouncing sentence, the court heard victim impact statements from 10 individuals describing how the horrific incident impacted their lives.
The sentencing came after a jury trial which had been completed on February 5,2025, where the jury found Smith guilty of seven counts of Manslaughter in the Second Degree for recklessly causing the deaths of Juan Carlos Leyva-Carrillo, Gabriel Juarez-Tovilla, Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio, Eduardo Lopez-Lopez, Luis Enrique Gomez-Reyes, Alejandro Jimenez Hernandez, and Josue Garcia-Garcia. In addition to the Manslaughter counts the jury convicted Smith of three counts of Assault in the Third Degree for recklessly causing serious physical injury to Jose Eduardo Solis-Flores, Maria Flores-Martinez, and Ibis Torres Rangel. Smith was found not guilty of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.
During the trial, Smith testified he had been up the night before “partying” with some hitchhikers he had picked up during his trip and admitted to using Methamphetamine and Cocaine the night before he was to continue driving on the freeway to complete his deliveries the next day. Tests of the Smith’s blood after the crash were positive for Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and Fentanyl. Evidence at trial showed that Smith began to feel tired at approximately 12:00 pm (2 hours before he caused the crash), but he did not take necessary steps to stop and rest and instead, fell asleep while driving his semi-truck on Interstate 5.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys David Wilson and Jessica Spooner.
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office wishes to thank the Oregon State Police for their thorough and professional investigation of this tragedy.
