'My friends are dead': 24-year-old charged in deaths of four following crash into homeless camp
Update: 3 p.m.
Salem police have released the names of the people killed in a crash early Sunday morning. They are:
- Jowand Beck, age 24;
- Luke Kagey, age 21;
- Joe Posada III, age 54;
- Rochelle Zamacona, age 29.
Two other people were injured and remain hospitalized: Derrick Hart, age 43; and Savaanah Miller, age 18.
Police have contacted family members for those killed, except for family for Jowand Beck.
Family members of the victims have received notification with the exception of one person, Jowand Beck. Investigators are asking anyone who knows how to contact Beck's family to call the Salem Police Traffic Team at (503) 588-6293.
“Sunday’s crash was such a tragic incident," Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack said in a statement. "The members of our Traffic Team did a tremendous job of quickly working through the investigation to make an arrest and in our effort to bring justice to the victims and their families. Our department will continue working with our social service partners and supporting them in any way possible as we move forward together with our community.”
This story was updated at 6:30 p.m.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested on multiple charges after allegedly crashing into a homeless camp on Front Street NE, causing the death of four people, Salem Police said Sunday evening.
The man was taken to Marion County Jail and is charged with:
- Four counts of first-degree manslaughter
- Second-degree assault
- Third-degree assault
- Six counts of reckless endangerment
It is the Statesman Journal's policy not to identify individuals who are arrested until they have been arraigned in court.
Original story
Four people died early Sunday when a vehicle crashed into a homeless camp near Front and Division Streets just west of downtown, according to Salem police.
Salem Police said in a news release Sunday afternoon that the traffic team investigating "believe alcohol may have been a contributing factor." The driver of a two-door sports coupe was northbound on Front Street passing Union Street when the vehicle left the roadway and crashed into the camp, pinning two individuals beneath the car.
Two people died at the scene of the 2 a.m. crash, police said. Four others were taken to Salem Health hospital where two later died. The driver, who was the only occupant of the car, also was taken to the hospital, police said.
The camp is in a small triangle of trees and grass just westof Front Street NE where it begins to curve. It's sandwiched between Front Street NE and a railroad track. City officials say the grassy area is Oregon Department of Transportation property. The number of tents and campers at the site is unknown.
As of Sunday afternoon, police had not released the names of the deceased, pending family notification, or updates on the conditions of those hospitalized.
Officials said officers helped several uninjured campers collect some of their belongings and provided shelter assistance. Three individuals were taken to a local motel. Salem’s homelessness advocates also were contacted to get resources for affected individuals, police officials said.
Nathan Rose said he and his girlfriend were in their tent when he heard two loud thuds. Rose said the silver sedan vehicle just missed his tent.
When he stepped outside the tent, he saw some of his friends pinned underneath the car.
“The moment I saw what had happened, first thing I did was drop my phone and call 911," Rose said.
He said he helped pull one person from under the car but witnesses were unable to help the others.
“From there, it was just chaos," he said.
Front Street was closed between Union and D streets for several hours while police investigated the crash. It reopened just before 9 a.m.
'I just wish there was somewhere to go'
The crash occurred in the area near the new Union Gospel Mission of Salem's men's shelter, which has beds for about 300 and ARCHES, which provides assistance services.
“In the winter, homeless residents crowd closer into the downtown trying to get closer to food, dry spaces and warmth," said Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, which assists in providing services for individuals struggling with homelessness. "Our unsheltered spend most of their day trying to find a safe place to sleep and rest, but events like this remind us that there is no safe space.”
He said nearly 50 homeless people have died in the past two years, but this is the first incident involving this many people.
“No one deserves to have to live in unsheltered conditions and they damn sure do not deserve to die in them," he said. “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.
“I just wish there was somewhere to go without having to worry about stuff like this,” said Ryan Wright who witnessed the crash.
More than 1,000 people sleep outside in the Salem area on any given night. Salem City Council has created two pallet shelter locations in the city and is in the process of adding additional locations transitional shelters.
The city allowed camping in some of its parks in the early months of the pandemic but last summer reinstated its park camping ban and cleared out the parks. Since then, camps have popped up in a number of areas as people were removed from one location after another.
'My friends are dead'
At least a dozen campers off Front Street NE awoke to a partly-flattened campsite early Sunday. Piles of clothes, bags, tarps and a downed tent line the car's path. Two trees in the grassy area were marked.
“I knew there were kids over here in a tent," Rose said of the victims. "The tent was no longer there and the car was sitting where the kids were.”
Rose returned to the camp Sunday afternoon to sort through the pile of debris and salvage some of his friends' belongings, though he wasn't sure what belonged to whom.
Mike Wade didn't witness the crash but came to the camp after hearing one of his close friends had died. He spent the 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. “My friends are dead and I don’t know what to say."
A man who goes by the name "Animal" also said he was friends with one of the individuals who died. "He was a nice guy. He cared about the people around him," he said of his friend.
"Animal" said he had been staying at the homeless camp off Front Street until Saturday when he moved to Wallace Marine Park. He returned Sunday morning after hearing about the crash, to check on other campers.
"If we actually had a place to go, stuff like this wouldn't happen," he said. "It kind of forces us to do what we can when we can."
City spokesperson Kathy Ursprung said the city had cleaned up Marion Square Park in that area in early March in response to public health concerns about the conditions. She said the cleanup focused on the areas near the park like sidewalks and under bridges.
Jones said he did not believe the camp sweeps contributed directly to this incident, saying many people had been sleeping in that location close to the road prior to the sweeps.
"This is the result of someone’s violent reckless behavior behind the wheel. It could have happened at a school or at a bus stop or the farmer’s market," he said. "We do need to spend time as a community to find more land where the unsheltered can sleep farther away from the highways. I hope the city continues to work on doing so."
Homeless evictions:About 100 homeless evicted from Marion Square Park in downtown Salem
“My condolences go out to the friends and family of those affected by this terrible tragedy,” Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett said. “We continue to offer alternatives to unmanaged camping and encourage people to access those resources."
Interim Salem city manager Kristin Retherford said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened at the tragic deaths of four members of our community early this morning when a vehicle struck an encampment along Front Street."
"Our prayers are with those individuals, those who survived the accident but are currently hospitalized, those who weren’t injured but experienced the trauma of this horrible event, and the families and friends of those who died today," Retherford said. "We grieve with them and support them in their grief. We are coordinating with nonprofits and with city case managers to provide assistance to survivors."
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.
"It's only been a matter of hours, but I’m already seeing social media posts blaming the homeless for camping near a busy street. As if they deserved to die," Nordyke wrote on her Facebook page. "The dehumanization of the unsheltered, especially in a time of immense suffering and grief, is completely unacceptable. Salem is better than that."
Nordyke said she has asked Mayor Bennett to observe a moment of silence during Monday night's council meeting for the lives lost in the crash.
Dianne Lugo covers equity and social justice. You can reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com, 503-936-4811 or on Twitter @DianneLugo.
Whitney Woodworth covers Salem city government. You can reach her at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, 503-910-6616 or on Twitter @wmwoodworth
Virginia Barreda covers breaking news, public safety and courts. She can be reached at vbarreda@statesmanjournal.com 503-399-6657 or on Twitter @vbarreda2