Springfield man convicted of manslaughter for crash that killed 2 in SE Salem

A 12-person jury on Wednesday unanimously found Terrance H. Quackenbush-Benson guilty of two counts of first- and second-degree manslaughter for huffing an inhalant, driving into the wrong lane on Southeast Cordon Road and causing a head-on collision that killed two people.

Quackenbush-Benson, 29, of Springfield, was also convicted of second-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving.

The Sept. 16, 2024 crash killed Blanca M. Franco-Ramos, 28, of Mt. Angel, and Heriberto Rangel-Rangel, 46, of Silverton.

Quackenbush-Benson drove his truck across the center line and crashed head-on with a truck driven by Franco-Ramos. She and Rangel-Rangel, a passenger, died “upon impact,” according to a May 7 statement from the office Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson.

A third passenger survived the crash but is still recovering from serious injuries, according to the statement.

Quakenbush-Benson is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13. 

Marion County prosecutors said in an October 2024 court filing that Quackenbush-Benson showed a lack of remorse and was already on supervision from a previous DUI at the time of the crash. They intend to rely on those details to argue for a sentence that’s longer than typical.

He previously pleaded guilty in September 2023 in Eugene Municipal Court to driving under the influence and entered a diversion program, according to city court records.

On the morning of the crash, Quackenbush-Benson drove from Springfield to Salem, Deputy District Attorney Melissa Roberts said in her opening statements during the trial.

Roberts said police after the crash found “a surprising number” of Dust-Off canisters in Quackenbush-Benson’s truck which had been bought that morning. The compressed air product is used to clean electronics.

Attorney Theodore Coran, who represented Quackenbush-Benson, said during opening statements that he huffed the inhalant between 8:30 and 9 a.m. that morning.

Coran said the effects of inhalants last no more than five minutes, and Quackenbush-Benson could not still have been impaired when he caused the crash around 10:15 a.m. 

The defense attorney said Quackenbush-Benson had dropped his phone, reached down to find it and couldn’t, so he tried instead to pull up the map on his truck’s GPS when the crash occurred.

Had the jury found him not guilty of manslaughter, they would have then decided whether to convict him of criminally negligent homicide.

Coran told jurors that Quackenbush-Benson’s conduct at the time of the crash was negligent but not reckless.

The jury disagreed, finding him guilty on all charges. Under state law, his first-degree manslaughter meant jurors found that he caused the fatal crash “recklessly, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

RELATED COVERAGE:

Man charged with manslaughter, DUI in Sept. 16 crash that killed 2 in SE Salem

Police identify victims of fatal crash Monday on Cordon Road

Man and woman die in head-on crash on Cordon Road, three seriously injured   

Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.

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