A 22-year old Salem man, allegedly driving drunk, was arrested early Sunday morning after his vehicle rear-ended one car on Interstate 5 near Woodburn, Oregon, setting in motion a four-vehicle crash that sent five people to the hospital, police reported.
Julio Salcido-Dominguez, the allegedly drunk driver, received only minor injuries in the crash. After receiving medical treatment at the Salem Hospital (SH), he was lodged in the Marion County Jail for driving under the influence of intoxicants, eight counts of recklessly endangering another person, and three counts of second-degree assault, Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers said.
Five people were injured Sunday morning when an allegedly drunk driver set in motion a four-vehicle crash on I-5 near Woodburn - OSP photo.
Salcido-Dominguez was traveling south in the left lane of Interstate 5 near milepost 268 about 1 a.m., February 3, when he crashed into the back of a 1992 Honda Civic. The Civic then rear-ended a 2004 Volkswagen GTI, which in turn crashed into another 1992 Honda Civic.
Troopers from the Salem Area Command office are continuing the investigation to determine if, for an unknown reason, the two Honda Civics and the Volkswagen were stopped or had slowed prior to the crash.
Salcido-Dominguez’s passenger, 23-year old Jorge Torres-Rocha, was transported to SH with non-life threatening injuries, troopers said.
All three occupants of the first Honda Civic struck by the allegedly drunk driver were injured. Driver Jesus Bustos, an 18-year-old Salem resident, was seriously injured, troopers said. His 16-year-old broher, Miguel Bustos, is reportedly in critical condition at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) in Portland. 15-year-old Christian Garivo of Salem was transported to OHSU where he was treated for minor injuries and released.
Luis Valencia, 20, a Salem resident driving the Volkswagen, was not injured, OSP said.
The two occupants of the second Honda Civic were also uninjured, police reported. Ricardo Zarco-Arellano, 19, and passenger Diana Carranza, 19, both from Salem, were unharmed.
All lanes of traffic were closed for about ½ hour before one lane was reopened. Oregon Department of Transportation personnel completely reopened the highway to traffic about 5 hours later, OSP said.