Woodburn man sentenced to 18 years after fatal Polk County crash in January

A Woodburn man is now in the Department of Corrections after being sentenced to 18 years for a Polk County car crash in January that killed one man and injured three others.

Marcos Antonio-Luz, 42, was admitted to Coffee Creek Correctional Facility on Aug. 20 after he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, three counts of assault and driving under the influence of intoxicants. He was sentenced Aug. 5 in Polk County Circuit Court.

An indictment against Antonio-Luz included 10 charges but a plea agreement with the Polk County District Attorney led to five of them being dropped.

The three-vehicle crash on Jan. 19 took place on Highway 22 south of Highway 18. It resulted in the death of Clifford Fagaly, 69, of Silverton. His wife and passenger, Kerttu Fagaly, 85, of Silverton, was critically injured and taken to Salem Hospital.

Lt. Gregg Hastings of Oregon State Police said that around 6:30 p.m. a westbound 2003 Ford van crossed the center line and collided with an eastbound 2000 Toyota four-door driven by Fagaly. The Toyota came to rest in a ditch and the van stopped in the westbound lane, where it was hit by a westbound Dodge pickup and skidded off the highway.

Antonio-Luz was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the pickup, Lonny Bryant, 51, and passenger Ruthann Bryant, 49, both of Willamina, had minor injuries.

Deputy district attorney Keir Boettcher said there were a multitude of reasons to go with the plea agreement – the first being judicial economy.

“There was a lot of evidence in favor of the state,” Boettcher said.

The case was less of an issue of guilty versus not guilty, and more about what the appropriate sentence would be, he said.

The victims were another consideration. Boettcher said victims and their family members were present throughout the case, some traveling from as far as Missouri.

Marcos Antonio-Luz - ICE hold