Local News in Brief : Irvine : 2 in Stolen Van Arrested After High-Speed Chase

Two Los Angeles men in a van that had been reported stolen were arrested early Tuesday after it went out of control on a freeway off-ramp and crashed into bushes, authorities said.

Miles A. Moore, 22, and Vernon M. Owens, 27, suffered minor injuries when the Toyota van twice flipped over as they fled from police at speeds of 100 m.p.h., Police Sgt. Ron Flathers said.

Both men were booked into County Jail on suspicion of two counts each of grand theft auto and one count of resisting arrest, Flathers said.

Officer Barry Aninang spotted the two getting into the van, which had no license plates, shortly after 3 a.m. in the Irvine neighborhood of Woodbridge, Flathers said.

When Aninang tried to stop them, they fled in the van, Flathers said.

Aninang chased the van through Woodbridge and onto the northbound Santa Ana Freeway. The van went out of control as the driver tried to merge onto the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway, Flathers said.

When the van stopped, the men hid in some bushes until police with a dog ordered them out, Flathers said. “When they heard the dog barking, they decided to give up,” he said.

Police found a Cadillac in Woodbridge that had apparently been stolen by the two the same night, Flathers said.