North County : Man Held After Woman Is Abducted in Car

A Yorba Linda man was arrested on suspicion of kidnaping, aggravated assault and grand theft auto Monday night after leading police on a chase in which a young female victim was pushed or fell from the fleeing auto, according to La Palma and Buena Park police.

A La Palma police officer continued the chase into a residential neighborhood until his police cruiser was sideswiped by the suspect’s car, which then caromed into a parked car and came to a rest, said La Palma Sgt. Russ Daedelow.

Hector Garcia, 18, who lives on Deerfoot Lane in Yorba Linda, was booked at Orange County Jail.

The victim, Leigh Smith, 18, was treated by paramedics for injuries to her face and left hand and bruises about the body, police said. She was transported to La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, where she was treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Police said the incident began about 10:42 p.m. in a restaurant parking lot at 5980 Orangethorpe Ave. when a man forced Smith into her own car, choked her, then drove west on Orangethorpe into La Palma.

A La Palma police patrolman stopped the car for a vehicle code violation, but when the officer parked his patrol car, the man pulled away again, said Buena Park Lt. Kenneth Baguley.

The driver slowed briefly during the chase and the pursuing officer saw a young woman fall or be pushed from the driver’s door, police said.

The pursuit continued until the stolen car crashed into a parked car in the 7600 block of Tracy Lane, where La Palma Police Officer Bruce Curnow made the arrest, police said.