Employer of 7 farmworkers killed in Oregon highway crash says devastation is 'immeasurable'

The employer of the seven farmworkers who were killed last week on Interstate 5 between Salem and Albany said the company considered them family and is grieving the loss.

All 11 people killed or injured in the crash, which is being investigated as a DUII, were agricultural workers for J. Ruiz Farm Labor Contracting, a labor contract company in Salem. Seven people were killed; four were injured, some seriously. The Mexican Consulate said it believes the victims were Mexican nationals or have connections to Mexico.

Anmarie Ruiz, the company's administrative manager, said the devastation is "immeasurable."

"No one could have known what lied ahead when they went to work that day or that they would never return home to their family after an honest day's work," Ruiz said in a statement to the Statesman Journal. "Day in and day out these hard-working individuals work harder than anyone could ever know to make a life here with their families."

OSP has identified the victims as: Eduardo Lopez, 31, of Gervais; Alejandro Jimenez Hernandez, 36, of Gervais; Josue Garcia Garcia, 30, of Salem; Luis Enrique Gomez Reyes, 30, of Woodburn; Javier Suarez, 58, of Woodburn; Alejandra Espinoza Carpio, 39; and Juan Carlos Leyva Carrillo, 37, of Woodburn.

Ruiz said the company's sole focus now is supporting surviving employees and victims' families.

"They had plans for a future, children to raise, they had hopes and dreams," she said.

Some of those who died were biological relatives, Ruiz said, or worked alongside biological relatives. But "all were family, in a sense," she said.

"Many of these families work together, live together [and] now can't work because they are grieving and trying to navigate through this tragedy," Ruiz said.

Ruiz is grateful for the outpouring of support she already has seen from friends and colleagues, she said, including from a GoFundMe created by the Oregon Farm Bureau.

The GoFundMe, which was launched Tuesday evening, had raised more than $36,000 of its $55,000 goal by noon Wednesday. The funds will be split evenly among the victims' families and surviving employees, Ruiz said.

SAIF, Oregon's worker's compensation agency, will cover funeral costs and repatriation to Mexico. PCUN, Oregon's farmworker union, also is raising money through its foundation to be split among the 11 families. SAIF, Oregon's worker's compensation agency, will cover funeral costs and repatriation

Ruiz said she hopes the funds provide some relief to families as they grieve and recover.

"We at J. Ruiz Farm Labor are grateful to have known them all."

Shannon Sollitt covers agricultural workers through Report for America, a program that aims to support local journalism and democracy by reporting on under-covered issues and communities. Send tips, questions and comments to ssollitt@statesmanjournal.com