Man accused of manslaughter in fatal NE Lancaster collision
A Salem man is accused of manslaughter after police said he caused a fatal collision early Saturday, March 28, on Northeast Lancaster Drive.
Officers responded to a reported two-vehicle crash on the road near the intersection with Northeast Weathers Street around 3:30 a.m. They found a gray Ford Mustang with the driver, 54-year-old Daniel Lewis, dead at the scene.
A passenger, 31-year-old Kayla Meyer, was injured and transported to Salem Hospital.
Witnesses to the crash saw a white Mercedes SUV driving at a “high rate of speed” before hitting the Mustang, a Saturday evening police statement said.
Police found a Mercedes a few blocks from the crash site and identified the driver in the crash as Romel Villarreal, 35.
Villarreal was arrested on accusations of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault, driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, reckless endangering and failing to perform the duties of a driver. He was lodged in the Marion County Jail as of Saturday evening.
The crash is the second fatal crash Salem police have responded to in 2026, the statement said.
This story was updated more information from Salem police.
Contact Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
