A St. Louis grand jury has indicted 65-year-old Joseph Clayton of Indiana on charges tied to a drunken-driving crash that killed 24-year-old Raven McCline as she stopped to help a stranded motorist on Interstate 70 back in April. The indictment, handed up Thursday, formalizes felony charges nearly five months after the fatal early-morning collision.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Clayton is accused of driving drunk and fatally striking McCline, a Belleville woman, while she was assisting the driver of a crashed SUV. The Post-Dispatch's Katie Kull, a public safety reporter, wrote that the grand jury's indictment names Clayton in connection with the April crash.
The crash unfolded around 1:15 a.m. on Friday, April 3, on eastbound I-70 near Union Boulevard, after a Ford Explorer went off the rain-slicked highway. McCline walked toward the disabled vehicle to help before she was struck, according to KSDK-TV, which reported that Clayton was driving a Chevrolet Silverado at the time. The crash happened during rainy conditions, the outlet noted, as McCline had pulled over safely before being hit.
Highway Shut Down for Hours as Investigators Worked the Scene
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department accident reconstruction investigators closed all eastbound lanes of I-70 for roughly four hours following the crash, with the highway not fully reopening until around 5:20 a.m., the station's report said. The extended closure reflects the scale of the response required to map a fatal crash scene on one of the region's busiest corridors.
Felony Charges Carry Years in Prison Under Missouri Law
Under Missouri Revised Statute § 565.024, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and causing the death of someone who is not a passenger constitutes first-degree involuntary manslaughter, a Class B felony, according to Missouri's state statutes. Class B felonies in Missouri carry prison terms ranging from five to fifteen years with mandatory minimum service requirements. It remains unclear from available records whether Clayton's blood alcohol level at the scene or the exact number of felony counts he faces have been publicly detailed.
Missouri's Move Over law, RSMo § 304.022, requires drivers approaching stationary emergency or service vehicles with active warning lights to change lanes or slow down, and carries elevated felony penalties if a violation results in injury or death, per legal analysis of the statute. The law is meant to protect first responders, tow operators, and stranded motorists on high-speed roadways like the stretch where McCline was killed.
Good Samaritans Face Limited Legal Protection Under State Law
While Missouri law pushes drivers to slow down or move over for roadside hazards, the state's civil protections for bystanders who step in to help are narrower than many might assume. Missouri Revised Statute § 537.037 limits Good Samaritan civil liability protections to individuals with certified medical training, meaning lay bystanders like McCline do not receive statutory civil immunity under state law, according to an analysis of the statute. Criminal charges in this case focus solely on the driver, but the distinction underscores how differently the law treats helpers based on their training.
A Dangerous Corridor With a Pattern of Pedestrian Deaths
McCline's death adds to a troubling pattern along the urban stretch of I-70 through St. Louis. In October 2025, St. Louis Metropolitan Police District 6 detectives investigated a separate fatal pedestrian strike on I-70 near Adelaide Avenue after 38-year-old Heather Crews was struck by multiple vehicles, according to a report shared on Facebook. Hoodline previously covered that crash in a St. Louis hit-and-run report.
Federal crash data analyzed this year identified I-70 as Missouri's most dangerous highway, registering 159 crash incidents along its 250-mile corridor connecting Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis, Hoodline reported in coverage of a Saline County pedestrian death. That crash, along with an August pedestrian death in Wentzville and a construction worker's death near Bridgeton, has kept the interstate's safety record under scrutiny throughout the year.
Statewide, the toll from impaired and reckless driving remains steep. During the 2026 Labor Day holiday counting period alone, the Missouri State Highway Patrol recorded 213 traffic crashes resulting in eight fatalities, 82 injuries, and 123 arrests for driving while intoxicated statewide. Even so, preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Transportation shows 402 traffic fatalities occurred statewide during the first two quarters of 2026, a decrease of 24 deaths compared to the same period last year under the state's Show-Me Zero safety initiative.
It is not yet known whether court dates or bond conditions have been set for Clayton following Thursday's indictment, or whether McCline's family has pursued any civil litigation in connection with her death.
