Salem man gets 25 years in crash that killed 4 at homeless encampment
The man arrested for driving drunk, crashing into a homeless encampment north of downtown Salem and killing four people was sentenced to 25 years and 10 months in prison Wednesday.
After seven months in the Marion County jail, Enrique Rodriguez Jr., 25, of Salem, pleaded guilty in November to four counts of first-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault, DUI, reckless driving and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.
He struck six people with his car, killing Jowand Beck, 24, Luke Kagey, 21, Joe Posado III, 54, and Rochelle Zamacona, 29.
Those killed left behind children and grieving families. Kagey's daughter had been born three weeks before he died. He ran track in high school and was on the robotics team. He had just turned 21 and was excited about becoming a father.
"Luke was so loved," said his parents Lane and Diane Kagey is a statement to the court. "He was the baby of our family."
They said they were heartbroken and devastated by his death. His last text to his mother was, "Love you."
"His newborn daughter will never hear those words as she grows up," his parents said.
His family urged the court to not think of the victims as less human because of their living situation. They asked for justice.
Zamacona grew up in Salem, Albany and Brownsville. She remained in contact with her family as she struggled with mental health issues and drugs. Her dad said she had a home to return to when she was ready. He remembered her as selfless and always willing to help others, even when she had nothing.
"I have a big hole in my heart," said her father, Eddie Zamacona. "That guy over there... He took my daughter from me."
Her mother Sonia Zamacona held a picture of her daughter on a horse.
"I want everyone to know who she was," she told the court. "That's all I have left of my daughter: her pictures."
Police were unable to contact the family of 24-year-old Jowand Beck. According to Oregon records, he had been listed as homeless since at least 2020.
Posada was known as the camp "elder." Younger campers turn to him for help and advice. He loved music and would play anything that came over the radio, his friends said.
Crash leaves community in shock
In the early morning hours of March 27, Rodriguez crashed his silver Nissan 300ZX into a cluster of tents huddled between Front Street NE and a railroad track just north of downtown.
According to police records, he was spotted street racing and speeding in the hours before the crash. His blood-alcohol content was .26% — more than three times the legal limit.
More:Witness: Driver racing, speeding less than a day before deadly crash at homeless camp
One witness estimated Rodriguez was going about 70 miles per hour on the road moments before the crash. The posted speed limit on the street is 35 mph.
After he failed to negotiate the turn in the road, he crossed the center median and barreled into the encampment.
"To describe the initial scene as chaotic is a gross understatement," said Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson in a memorandum to the court.
Officers described people screaming in pain and others looking for their lost loved ones. The bumper fell off Rodriguez's car, and the engine was smoking.
Senior Officer Alex Asay recounted in a report finding a mangled tent under the car. Nearby was Kagey, pinned beneath the car and struggling to breathe. He tried to talk but Asay couldn't understand him. The officer grabbed a blanket, put it under his head and tried to comfort him.
The sheer amount of debris made it hard to find the other victims. Officers found the badly mangled bodies of Posada and Beck lying unresponsive. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
More:4 killed in crash at homeless encampment in Salem remembered as funny, kind, loving
They found Zamocona under the debris, still alive but gravely injured.
She and Kagey were taken to the hospital, where they died from their injuries.
Derrick Hart, 43, and Savannah Miller, 18, were hospitalized with serious injuries. Five other people camping at the spot reported narrowly dodging the speeding car.
"Given the enormity of the scene and the obvious destruction, it is incredible that more life was not lost," Clarkson said.
Responding officers reported Rodriguez was visibly intoxicated and had red, watery eyes, slurred speech, a flush, slack face and smelled of alcohol.
He told police he had four drinks before the crash.
Salem police arrested Rodriguez while he was at the hospital. Rodriguez initially expressed concern for the victims but "quickly shifted to anger" over not getting to smoke a cigarette and when police told him he couldn't have his phone or car, according to the probable cause statement filed by Salem Police.
Witnesses reported an incident 12 hours before the crash involving a vehicle and driver matching Rodriguez's description. They told police the driver was "spinning tires" and racing a Subaru on Salem Parkway, almost striking a truck and driving at freeway speeds.
More:'My friends are dead': 24-year-old charged in deaths of four following crash into homeless camp
Rodriguez's driving record showed his driver's license was suspended and he had a warrant out of Lebanon Municipal Court for a probation violation for driving while suspended, according to police statements.
He had been found in violation of various traffic laws since about 2014, including reckless driving and driving uninsured.
Clarkson said Rodriguez had been partying at a friend's house earlier in the night. While still drunk, he drove downtown, drank with a friend while parked and continued drinking at a nearby bar.
Video footage showed him driving recklessly, going up on a curb and almost hitting his friend.
He drove away from the bar, heading directly down the road bordering the homeless camp. Minutes later, four people were dead.
'My friends are dead'
The crash left the community reeling. Mike Wade went to the scene after hearing one of his close friends was killed.
He spent that morning helping others at the camp try to salvage their belongings. ARCHES workers also were at the camp, offering breakfast and replacement tents.
“It gets me weaker every day hearing about us die one by one,” he said at the time. “My friends are dead and I don’t know what to say."
The high death toll attracted the attention of the national media, the story made the New York Times, USA Today and CNN.
The mayor, police chief, city councilors and other city leaders all released statements decrying the tragedy of the deaths.
In a statement on Facebook, city councilor Vanessa Nordyke called out individuals on social media "blaming" homeless people for camping near busy roads. While it's true that unsheltered individuals have camped near busy roads for years, she said, it does not excuse the "reckless" actions of the driver.
She called for a one-minute moment of silence and the Salem City Council meeting following the crash to remember those killed.
The deadly crash took place on a small patch of grass and trees owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation just north of downtown. ODOT officials said they do not allow camping along the state highway system due to its inherent dangerousness, calling the March crash the agency's "worst nightmare."
The site was set to be vacated the same week the crash occurred. By law, ODOT was required to give campers at least 10 days to vacate the property. Notices had been posted March 17.
About 1,500 people are living unsheltered in the Salem region, according to recent estimates.
Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, tracks homeless deaths in the region. The crash was the largest-scale casualty event involving in the unsheltered population in recent history.
“No one deserves to have to live in unsheltered conditions and they damn sure do not deserve to die in them," he told the Statesman Journal the day after the crash. “Tragedies like this will continue until this nation makes a serious commitment to the idea that housing is a human right, and that everyone deserves a warm, safe and dry place where they can live with dignity.”
The number of people struggling with homelessness continues to far exceed the available shelter and transitional housing options in Salem, and the area around the shelter and other services is a common place for people to set up camps.
Prosecutors argue for 30 years in prison
Clarkson noted in her sentencing memorandum that Rodriguez had no prior criminal convictions but was driving with a suspended license due to his "atrocious driving record."
"Further, investigators were able to locate his Instagram account which further led them to a video compilation of him driving recklessly," Clarkson said.
She argued that Rodriguez should serve 30 years in prison with no eligibility for early release or alternative programs.
"The sentence for this egregious act should appropriately reflect the defendant's reckless disregard for the extreme dangerousness of his actions and account for the vulnerable lives he took while also adequately protecting the public from his deadly decisions," she said. "Thirty years of incarceration accomplishes that."
Rodriguez's defense attorney Zach Causey asked for a sentence of 10 years. Rodriguez's mother pleaded for a shorter sentence, saying her son was a good person who made a mistake. He was the father of four kids and worked as a manager at an auto parts store.
Rodriguez asked to face the victim's family when he addressed the court.
"I am deeply sorry," he said while crying. "I am sorry to have put you through this."
He apologized for his selfish actions and said he wanted to take full responsibility for the deaths by pleading guilty to all counts and not putting the families through a trial.
"I have no excuses," he said.
He asked for a shorter sentence to allow him to be present for his children, siblings and mother.
"I know this accident cannot go unpunished," he said. "Please have mercy on my life."
Reporter Dianne Lugo contributed to this story
Contact reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem man gets 25 years in crash that killed 4 at homeless encampment
