Buena Park : Cyclist Critically Hurt After Hitting Police Car

A man, thought to be about 19 years old, suffered massive head injuries when the motorcycle he was driving rear-ended a police car early Wednesday after a pursuit through residential streets at speeds of up to 100 m.p.h., according to police.

By late Wednesday the motorcycle rider had not been identified. He was listed in critical condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

The pursuit began on Valley View Street near Crescent Avenue when the man was pulled over by Cypress police officers for speeding. Although that intersection is in Buena Park, the officers had spotted the speeding motorcycle in Cypress, about a block south.

The rider at first pulled over to the curb but sped away as the officers began to get out of their car. They began chase and called in Buena Park officers, police said.

The chase wound through residential streets in the area before turning north onto Valley View from Lincoln Avenue. About 12:30 a.m., the motorcycle, traveling at about 90 m.p.h., rear-ended a police car just south of the Riverside Freeway, Buena Park Police Officer Terry Branum said. The impact threw the motorcyclist to the pavement.