LOCAL : Anaheim Driver Held in Collision
A 21-year-old woman is being held on charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving and evading police today after a car she was driving rammed into a compact packed with eight people Tuesday night after a short police chase along Brookhurst Road.
Monica Josephine Mendoza of Anaheim is in fair condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, Fullerton Police Sgt. Steve Matson said.
A red car was spotted racing out of a service station at La Palma Avenue and Brookhurst in Anaheim with wheels spewing smoke in an “exhibition of speed,” Anaheim Police Sgt. Ken Brott said. An officer gave chase but the driver failed to stop, Brott said.
The officer then radioed for help, and an Anaheim police helicopter and later Fullerton police cars assisted, Brott said.
The six-minute chase at speeds of up to 80 m.p.h ended at the northeast corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Brookhurst in Fullerton when the car went through a red light and collided with another car, Matson said. The collision sent both cars slamming into light poles. Eight occupants of the car that was hit, including five children ranging from 3 to 12 years old, were hurt.
Police did not release the names of the others, who were in stable to fair condition today at four area hospitals.
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