Injured Suspect Caught After Hit-Run Collision

A 27-year-old Santa Ana man was in critical condition Saturday after crashing his car into a fire hydrant and knocking down a light pole in Tustin following a high-speed chase that began with a hit-and-run collision in Irvine, police said.

Simon Ruiz was arrested on misdemeanor driving under the influence and hit and run, but was not booked because of his injuries, according to Tustin Police Sgt. Brent Zicarelli. Ruiz, who was thrown from his vehicle, was transported to Western Medical Center where he is listed in critical but stable condition.

Police said that at about 6 p.m. a car driven by Ruiz collided with two other vehicles at Harvard and Valencia avenues in Irvine but that he failed to stop at the scene. Witnesses followed Ruiz, but were unable to keep up with his car, which reached speeds of up to 90 m.p.h., Zicarelli said.

However, about a mile from the original collision, Ruiz apparently was unable to negotiate a curb in the roadway and struck a fire hydrant and knocked down a light pole at Edinger Avenue, east of Red Hill Avenue.