PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Four people died and 3 more were hurt after a driver crashed into a Salem homeless encampment around 2 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Later in the day, Enrique Rodriguez, Jr., 24, was arrested on 4 counts of manslaughter, 2 counts of assault and 6 counts of reckless endangerment. He was taken to the hospital for treatment after the crash but is now being held in the Marion County Jail, authorities said.
Earlier investigators said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. Rodriguez was the only person in the car.
The crash involved a 2-door sports coupe that left the road and hit a homeless camp near the corner of Front Street NE and Division Street. Two people were pinned under the car, officials said. They died at the scene.
Four others plus the driver were rushed to Salem Hospital for treatment. But 2 of them later died. The other two remain hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said.
On Monday, Salem police identified the people involved: Jowand Beck, 24; Luke Kagey, 21; Joe Posada III, 54; and Rochelle Zamacona, 29, all died from the crash. The injured were identified as Derrick Hart 43, and 18-year-old Savaanah Miller. Hart and Miller remain in the hospital.
Authorities have not yet been able to contact Beck’s family. Anyone with information about how to reach them is asked to call the Salem Police Traffic Team at 503.588.6293.
It’s not known how many people were staying at that camp. But Salem officers helped several uninjured campers collect their belongings and provided help getting shelter. Three of them were taken to a motel, officials said.
The crash happened near Marion Square Park in downtown Salem.
Jimmy Jones, who has been working to help Salem’s homeless for decades, got a phone call in the wee hours of the morning about the deadly crash.
“It’s probably one of the most crushing moments I’ve ever had in social work,” Jones told KOIN 6 News. “Most of those folks had known each other for quite some time and they felt like they had each other’s backs. When they went to bed at night they never expected anything like this to happen.”
Jones said those who survived will have to deal with “one of the most tragic and traumatic things of their entire life. They didn’t lose people who were unknown to them. They lost part of their family.”
This is a grim reminder of how dangerous it is for people living outside, especially along busy roadways.
“I think in the broader sense of things, I think we have to make sure there are safe locations for people to camp,” he said. “This problem isn’t going to end anytime soon. This is going to be a generational issue.”
Jones predicts it will take more than 2 decades to see transformational change in the homeless crisis in Oregon.
“Until then,” he said, “we’re going to have to come up with really smart policy decisions.”
In Portland, a February report from its transportation bureau stated 70% of pedestrian traffic deaths in 2021 in the city were homeless people.
The report was released on Feb. 2, and two days later, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced he would sign an emergency ban on homeless camps near roads with high amounts of crashes.
Read more about PBOT’s report here.