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He was convicted in February on seven counts of second-degree
manslaughter and three counts of assault, as well as reckless
driving. Jurors acquitted the 54-year-old Californian of driving
under the influence of intoxicants.
Testifying at trial, Smith said the effects of drugs he took the
night before the crash had worn off and he nodded off at the
wheel. Traces of methamphetamine, fentanyl and morphine were
found in his blood after the crash.
The crash, one of the state's deadliest, happened in May 2023.
Smith’s semitruck ran into a van carrying 11 farmworkers that
was parked on the side of I-5 near Albany, in an agricultural
area of the Willamette Valley.
The victims were identified as Juan Carlos Leyva-Carrillo, 37;
Gabriel Juarez-Tovilla, 58; Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio, 39;
Eduardo Lopez-Lopez, 31; Luis Enrique Gomez-Reyes, 30; Alejandro
Jimenez-Hernandez, 36; and Josue Garcia-Garcia, 30.
Smith apologized in court, saying that if he could trade his
life for any of the victims' lives, he would, KGW-TV reported.
Albany is about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Portland. I-5
is the main north-south interstate on the West Coast.
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