Orange : Police Continue Search for Hospital Escapee

A search was continuing Monday for an 18-year-old auto-theft suspect who escaped from the UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was being treated for injuries suffered when a truck overturned during a high-speed chase, authorities said.

Ricardo Sanchez, who with a companion was arrested by Los Alamitos police Friday on suspicion of grand theft and receiving stolen property, walked out of the hospital about 4 p.m. Sunday, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Richard J. Olson said Monday.

Sanchez, who was being treated for severe head injuries, was believed to have been wearing a white hospital robe and a white bandage on his head when he escaped, Olson said.

Los Alamitos Police Sgt. Bill Barrett said Sanchez and Ismael Munoz, 24, who also was booked on suspicion of grand theft and receiving stolen property, were first spotted by police while driving away from the Los Alamitos Community Center in a Toyota pickup truck shortly before 8 a.m. Friday, when the center was still closed.

Barrett said officers became suspicious and tried to stop them for questionning, but the suspects sped away, leading police on a high-speed chase that ended when the truck went out of control and overturned at Howard Avenue and Lexington Drive. Sanchez and Munoz both were ejected from the truck and suffered serious head and internal injuries, Barrett said.

Both suspects were believed to live in Santa Ana or Anaheim, but their residences were not confirmed, Olson said.

Sanchez was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, about 145 pounds, with brown hair and hazel or green eyes, Olson said.