LOCAL : Marine Held; Fled Tustin Police, Struck Vehicle Carrying 4 Children
A Marine stationed at El Toro was in custody today after he fled police and his car rammed a vehicle carrying four children, authorities said.
Bryan McKinney, 20, was booked on suspicion of reckless driving, drunk driving and assault with a deadly weapon, Tustin police said.
Officer Russell Whitehead said he tried to stop McKinney at Newport Avenue and McFadden Street because he appeared to be driving recklessly. McKinney fled, leading police on a chase southbound on the Santa Ana Freeway.
During the chase, Whitehead said, McKinney attempted to ram the police car and, as he exited the freeway, struck a station wagon carrying Melanie Moeller and four children. Moeller’s car was damaged, but she and the children were not injured.
The chase ended when McKinney’s car flipped end over end and caught fire in a graded gravel area where Jamboree Boulevard dead-ends in a field.
McKinney was taken to Western Medical Center. He was not seriously injured.
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