A Portland woman accused of two drunken driving crashes since 2025 was accused of driving impaired again on Sept. 13, after she crashed into an apartment building and caused $50,000 in damage, court records allege. Police say her blood-alcohol content was more than .55%, nearly seven times Oregon’s legal limit of .08.
Prosecutors are now accusing 61-year-old Joni Lynn Clayton of criminal driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, criminal mischief and driving under the influence of intoxicants, according to court records filed Friday.
The most recent incident happened around 8:30 p.m. at the Modera apartment complex at 4850 S.E. Woodstock Blvd., court records say. More than two and a half hours after the crash, her blood-alcohol content registered .556%, court records say.
A blood-alcohol content of .30-.40% can cause alcohol poisoning in most people, experts say. Blood-alcohol percentages over .40% can cause coma and respiratory arrest and be fatal.
When Portland police responded to the scene, they found an unresponsive Clayton and another woman inside the car. The other woman identified herself as a bystander who saw the crash and climbed into the car to help, court records say.
The woman told police that she saw Clayton run a red light, stop in the middle of the intersection of Woodstock Boulevard and Southeast 49th Avenue, then attempt a turn onto 49th. Clayton instead missed all lanes of traffic, drove onto the curb and skidded into the ground-floor windows of the apartment complex, court records allege.
Court records show that the woman rushed to help, smashed out one of the windows of the car Clayton was driving, and climbed inside while she waited for first responders to arrive.
Emergency responders drove Clayton to OHSU Hospital, where her blood was drawn to be tested for alcohol.
It’s not the first time Clayton has been accused of driving impaired. In June 2026 she allegedly crashed into another car hard enough to send it crashing into the car in front of it, court records show.
In that incident, the officer who responded to the scene reported that he could smell alcohol on Clayton from 4 feet away, and a breathalyzer registered her blood-alcohol content at .24%, court documents say.
She faces charges of reckless driving and DUII in that case, which is ongoing.
In another incident on April 1, 2025, Clayton crashed into a fence, and a blood-alcohol test clocked in at .492%. She was convicted of criminal mischief and she was later diverted to probation and a court-ordered alcohol treatment program.
But prosecutors alleged in April 2026 that she failed to follow through with her treatment, and her alleged non-compliance means the case is still open despite her conviction last year.
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