A driver plowed into a homeless encampment in Oregon, killing four and critically injuring two others, police said.
Enrique Rodriguez Jr., 24, was driving near Front and Union streets in Salem at 2 a.m. Sunday when his car “left the roadway” and crashed into a nearby homeless encampment — pinning two people beneath the vehicle, according to a preliminary investigation.
The two victims were pronounced at the scene. Four others were rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, two of whom later died.
Rodriguez, the lone person inside the car, was also taken to a hospital for treatment, police said, adding that they believed alcohol played a “contributing factor,” Salem police said in a statement.
It’s unclear how many people and tents were set up at the encampment, but Salem cops provided assistance to some by setting up temporary housing for three individuals at a nearby motel, police said.
Cops were looking into the circumstances leading up to the deadly wreck, but one man told the Salem Statesman Journal the silver sedan narrowly missed his tent as he and his girlfriend heard two loud thuds.
Nathan Rose then saw some of his friends pinned beneath the car and sprang into action, he recalled.
“The moment I saw what had happened, first thing I did was drop my phone and call 911,” Rose told the newspaper, adding that he helped pull one victim to safety. “From there, it was just chaos.”
The intersection was closed for several hours before reopening at 9 a.m., the Statesman Journal reported.
The wreck happened near the Union Gospel Mission of Salem’s shelter for men, which has about 300 beds, according to the newspaper.
“No one deserves to have to live in unsheltered conditions and they damn sure do not deserve to die in them,” said Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency.
“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,” Jones continued.
More than 1,000 homeless individuals sleep on Salem streets any given evening, according to the Statesman Journal. One man went to the camp after learning that one of his close friends had been killed.
“It gets me weaker every day hearing about us die one by one,” Mike Wade told the newspaper. “My friends are dead and I don’t know what to say.”
City officials acknowledged the “tragic deaths” in a statement while offering prayers to victims’ relatives.
“We grieve with them and support them in their grief,” interim Salem city manager Kristin Retherford said. “We are coordinating with nonprofits and with city case managers to provide assistance to survivors.”
Salem’s mayor, meanwhile, said the homeless encampment was on state transportation department property that was “slated for cleanup” this week.
“We continue to encourage those living in illegal or unmanaged camping sites to move to safer locations that are available,” Mayor Chuck Bennett told KEZI in an emailed statement.
