Portland woman faces vehicular homicide charges in Highway 500 crash that killed two passengers

A judge Tuesday set a Portland woman’s bail at $75,000 in connection with an alleged drunken-driving crash early Sunday morning on state Highway 500 that killed her two passengers.

Mickleen Daniel, 20, appeared in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of two counts of vehicular homicide. She appeared via Zoom from the Clark County Jail and was using a wheelchair; a jail pre-booking sheet states she suffered a broken back and road rash.

Judge Robert Lewis also ordered Daniel not to have any alcohol or controlled substances, be subject to random urine analyses and wear an alcohol monitor, if she is released. She is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 20.

Washington State Patrol troopers responded at 12:36 a.m. to a crash near Highway 500 and Thurston Way. Troopers arrived to find an Infiniti QX56 on its top. It appeared to have crashed through a guardrail on the highway and fallen onto Thurston Way, court records state.

One person was ejected from the vehicle, and two others were trapped. Medical staff pronounced one passenger, identified as 23-year-old Jayson Jimmy of Portland, dead at the scene, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Responders extricated the driver, identified as Daniel, and transported her, along with the passenger who was ejected, to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. That passenger, identified as 21-year-old Kamina M. Asimi, of Portland, later died at the hospital from her injuries, according to court records.

When troopers first contacted Daniel at the hospital, she reportedly told them she was the driver, but she said she didn’t recall what happened. Troopers said Daniel smelled of alcohol while they spoke with her, and they said her eyes appeared bloodshot and watery, court records state.

Daniel said she consumed one or two shots of alcohol, investigators said. A preliminary breath test taken about an hour after the crash showed Daniel had a blood-alcohol content of 0.093. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 is considered evidence of drunken driving. Her blood was also sent to the state crime lab for further toxicology testing, court records state.

When she was cleared by hospital staff, Daniel was arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail, according to the affidavit.