2024 was the deadliest year in at least a decade on Salem’s roads, with 25 fatal crashes

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A retired librarian, a dedicated aunt and a local volunteer were among the at least 27 people who died in fatal crashes in Salem this year.

In 2024, there were 25 fatal crashes in the Salem area that killed pedestrians, drivers, bicyclists and motorcyclists, according to a Salem Reporter analysis of crash data from local law enforcement agencies. 

Fatal crashes killed 27 people in 2024. That’s more than double the number of people who died in homicides this year.

According to data from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Salem Police Department, 2024 was the Salem area’s deadliest year in at least a decade for those on the road.

The state agency’s numbers are only finalized through 2022.

Preliminary ODOT data shows 587 traffic fatalities in Oregon during 2023 and 506 in 2024, as of Dec. 18.

The local increase in traffic fatalities mirrors a rise in both Oregon and the U.S. in fatal crashes, even as numbers are falling in other industrialized countries.

Some factors considered to drive the increase are growing use of smartphones, substance use and a lack of sidewalks. 

The rise in crashes is taxing law enforcement agencies, who often must keep roads closed for hours as they investigate and reconstruct the crash.

Salem police last year recorded 12 fatal crashes killing 13 people, compared with 20 crashes and 21 fatalities this year. That figure doesn’t include crashes the agency didn’t respond to, such as in unincorporated east Salem.

Salem Reporter’s list of fatal crashes includes those investigated by the Salem Police Department, Marion and Polk County Sheriff’s Offices and the Oregon State Police. 

Car drivers, pedestrians lead fatalities

Of the crashes reviewed by Salem Reporter, eight fatalities were pedestrians, making up one-third of the total 27 deaths.

That share has been decreasing in Salem. In 2015, 64% of those killed in fatal crashes were pedestrians, according to state data.

But the number remains above the state share. Preliminary data shows 18% of Oregon traffic fatalities were pedestrians so far this year, according to initial ODOT data.

In Salem, almost 40% of fatal crashes police investigated in the last three years have killed pedestrians and bicyclists, according to Angela Hedrick, spokeswoman for the Salem Police Department. In an email, Hedrick said a majority of those crashes happened due to the victims not being visible and illegally being in the roadway. 

Drivers of cars also accounted for eight deaths. The other fatalities include five motorcyclists, four car passengers and two bicyclists. 

Among those killed on local roads this year were:

• Judith A. Brunkal, 84, of Salem, a board director for the Salem Audubon Society and a former librarian in Woodburn
• Alejandro Zukowski, 63, of Salem, a veteran craftsman who founded a family-run design firm, died in a crash north of Dallas. That crash is not included in Salem Reporter’s tally for the year because it was outside the city.
• Lynda Rohrback Bush, 81, of Salem, a dedicated volunteer who spearheaded the creation of a dog area at Orchard Heights Park.
• Teresita Millard, 67, a beloved aunt who was picking up her husband’s medications when a driver struck her on Northeast Lancaster Drive.

Locations

Last year, fatal crashes happened more often on large arterials and highways like Southeast Commercial Street, Kuebler Boulevard and Highway 22. 

While local discussions around traffic safety often mention Northeast Lancaster Drive and east Salem, it was south Salem, with seven fatal crashes and fatalities, that saw the most of the year’s crashes.

East Salem was next, with five.

In an email, Hedrick said that over the last three years, Salem police has not seen one part of Salem with more fatal crashes than others.

Since 2022, West Salem has had the fewest crash fatalities with just three fatal crashes, according to Hedrick. 

This year, West Salem had two fatal crashes. Police are currently investigating a suspected hit-and-run after a 63-year-old man was found dead in the roadway on Dec. 23. 

Several other Salem roads had multiple crashes as well. Northeast Lancaster Drive, Kuebler Boulevard and Southeast Commercial Street each had two fatal crashes this year.

In 2024, Highway 22 had five fatal crashes, from Brunks Corner to southeast Mill Creek. 

Two crashes happened close to or at the Brunks Corner intersection of Highway 22 and Independence Highway just outside West Salem.

ODOT is partnering with Polk County to redesign the intersection to improve traffic safety, due to a high number of crashes. The intersection is part of a stretch of Highway 22 from Northwest Doaks Ferry Road to Rickreall Road that has had 141 crashes between 2018 and 2022, according to ODOT data. 

The new design will include an interchange at the intersection, two access roads and a separate path for pedestrians and cyclists. Construction of the project is not yet funded, according to ODOT.

Drivers criminally charged

Most drivers involved in crash fatalities were not cited, in several cases because they died in the crash.

Of the 25 fatal crashes Salem Reporter analyzed, only one led to criminal charges and a potential prison sentence. 

A two-vehicle crash on Cordon Road on Sept. 16, which killed two people, Blanca M. Franco-Ramos, 28, of Mt. Angel, and Heriberto Rangel-Rangel, 46, of Silverton, led to several charges for the driver of the other vehicle involved. 

The driver, Terrance H. Quackenbush-Benson, 29, of Springfield, was charged in November with first and second degree manslaughter, along with driving while intoxicated, according to the amended indictment. The charges, filed in Marion County Circuit Court, allege that Quackenbush-Benson was “under the influence of inhalants,” while driving on Sept. 16. 

The case is scheduled for trial in April 2025, according to court records.

He was one of two drivers involved in fatal crashes who were suspected of being under the influence.

The other driver, Thomas Cesena, 38, of Salem, was charged with manslaughter and reckless driving after a crash on April 2 that killed Jose R. Hernandez-Orozco, 52 of Salem. Cesena has been in custody at Marion County Jail since April 3.

His next court appearance is scheduled for January.

Two other drivers were cited for multiple reasons, which included failing to yield to a pedestrian, not stopping at a stop sign and driving uninsured. 

On Feb. 23, Lynda R. Bush, 81, was a passenger in a vehicle which drove through a stop sign, leading to a three-vehicle crash in the Morningside neighborhood. Bush died from the crash and Martin W. Loring, the driver of the car she was in, was cited for failure to obey a traffic control device.  

In another crash on Aug. 14, driver Mario A. Ortiz, 53, of Salem, was cited for not yielding to a pedestrian, not having an operator’s license and driving uninsured. The pedestrian hit in the crash, Teresita T. Millard, 67, died from her injuries three days later.

Time of day

Thirteen of this year’s fatal crashes happened during peak commuting times. There were seven between 7 and 10 a.m. this year, and six between 4 and 6:15 p.m.

These times of the day are also when the sun is lower in the sky and more likely to impair vision while driving. 

Throughout the year, the majority of fatal crashes happened in the spring, with four in April, four in May and one in March. Both February and July had three crashes, and October and December to date had none. 

Safety plans

Last year, the city of Salem received $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to roll out a plan to reduce speed limits, speed radar devices and a public education campaign. The plan, called “Vision Zero,” is part of a city effort to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2033. 

The city said it will install 3,600 signs reducing 25 mph speed limits to 20 mph on residential streets. 

As local agencies continue to create plans like “Vision Zero,” which often take months or a couple of years to research and implement, the Salem area’s metropolitan planning organization made a plan to guide officials. 

The organization, the Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study, released a draft plan in August highlighting several streets as common crash sites, including Southeast Commercial Street and Northeast Lancaster Drive.

In August, Salem’s transportation planning manager Julie Hanson told Salem Reporter that the city looks to plans like that one to learn which infrastructure projects to support. 

Action can take several years from learning about an issue to fixing it. Several years ago, the city determined that Southeast Commercial Street needed protected bike lanes and added buffered bike lanes from Madrona Avenue to Oxford street in August. 

Editor’s note: This story was published before the Salem Police Department confirmed a hit-and-run on Dec. 23. The crash makes the year’s total number of fatal crashes 26, with 28 fatalities.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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