Corvallis, OR. – October 15, 2025 at 11:00 PM, Maria Johnson is seen by CPD Officer Donny Sheldon in downtown Corvallis, driving poorly without her lights. Johnson then quickly turned onto a one way street heading in the wrong direction. When Sheldon activated his overhead lights, Johnson accelerated, lost control of her vehicle, and hit a parked car. She then drove onto the sidewalk and sped the length of the block, while pedestrians screamed and scattered to avoid being struck. Johnson continued to speed through town, again driving up on a sidewalk, and finally coming to a stop as a result of her vehicle becoming disabled. Ignoring officer commands, she got out of her car and ran, attempting to scale a fence. She was quickly caught and taken into custody by Sheldon and another officer.
Once taken into custody, Johnson offered in explanation of her eluding that she was scared because “the police were chasing me.” She went on to say “I’ll definitely tell you I’m definitely gonna get a DUI tonight.” Her prediction was correct.
Less than an hour after driving, Johnson’s blood alcohol level was determined to be a .14%. Under Oregon law, a person is guilty of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants if their blood alcohol level is a .08% at the time of driving, or their mental or physical faculties are “adversely affected to a noticeable or perceptible degree” by alcohol or another intoxicant. In regards to Johnson, both were true…