LOCAL : Van Thief Outraces Police to Mexico

A high-speed chase from Santa Ana to Mexico ended early this morning when the driver of a reportedly stolen van eluded police and the California Highway Patrol and disappeared across the border.

The chase began at 10:30 p.m. in Santa Ana when residents on West Walnut Street reported that a suspicious-looking van was being driven back and forth, police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said. Police responding to the call spotted the van, which had been reported stolen in Costa Mesa near the corner of Bristol Street and Civic Center Drive. The driver, ignoring orders to stop, began racing north along Bristol to the Garden Grove Freeway, Thomas said.

From there, three Santa Ana police cars followed the van at speeds reaching 80 m.p.h. to the Costa Mesa Freeway and then to the Riverside Freeway, calling the California Highway Patrol for help. Patrol cars then chased the van to Interstate 15 in Corona, where the fleeing driver turned south and headed toward Mexico, Thomas said.

The chase ended after midnight in San Ysidro, a small border town in San Diego County, after the van sped past border guards and into Mexico. Police have been unable to identify the suspect.