Weekend Fatal Crash Victims Identified

An autopsy conducted on Tuesday determined both individuals died as a result of the crash and not as a result of the fire.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - Salem police have released the names of the victims in a double fatal motor vehicle crash Saturday night in northeast Salem.

Salem police spokesman Lt. Bill Kohlmeyer said the driver was identified as 21-year-old Silvino Lopez-Serrano, and his passenger was identified as 17-year-old Alejandro Tapia-Martinez.

Both men were from Woodburn.

Due to the fire the identification was based on a combination interviews with family and friends and not on an eye witnesses identification Kohlmeyer said.

The car belonged to Lopez-Serrano's uncle who told investigators Silvino used the car frequently.

The State Medical Examiner made a decision not to do DNA testing based on the totality of the investigation.

Kohlmeyer added that toxicology tests will be conducted however those reports will not be available for some time.

The crash occurred late Saturday night at about 11:40 PM when an Acura Integra was seen north bound on Lancaster Drive at a very high rate of speed.

Witnesses estimated the speed to be 70-90 MPH.

At Devonshire the Integra ran a red light and clipped the front bumper on a 1994 GMC pickup driven by 27-year-old Edmond Mitchell of Salem.

Mitchell was not injured and his pickup received only minor damage.

The Integra then traveled about 150 feet north of Devonshire before it struck a power pole on the east side of the street.

The power pole was sheared off causing power lines to come came to rest on the car.

The power lines prevented any rescue efforts until police and fire personnel were sure the power was disconnected, which took approximately 40 minutes.

It was originally believed that the fire was caused by the arcing power lines, however further investigation determined the fire actually started as a result of the engine continuing to race at an extreme RPM after the car came to rest.

Anyone with information about this crash should contact the Salem Police Traffic Unit at (503) 588-6171.