COUNTYIDE : 7 Arrested After 95-M.P.H. Chase

Authorities chased a carload of illegal immigrants at speeds of 95 m.p.h. Thursday from San Clemente to Westminster, then treated them to hamburgers and fries after they were captured.

The chase started about 11:40 a.m. at the San Onofre immigration checkpoint, five miles south of San Clemente. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service agents spotted a red 1976 Camaro with only two passengers that seemed to be heavily weighted down, California Highway Patrol Officer Lyle Whitten said.

As the car passed through the checkpoint, agents ran a computer check of the license plate and discovered that the car had been stolen. When agents followed and tried to stop the car, it sped northbound on Interstate 5, then switched to the San Diego Freeway north of El Toro.

The chase ended when the car pulled off the freeway at Westminster Boulevard and the driver jumped from the vehicle and ran.

The 17-year-old was quickly captured. There turned out to be six passengers in the car, including one in the trunk. Upon questioning, authorities discovered that the five men and two women were illegal aliens from various parts of Mexico.

“They said they were very hungry and hadn’t eaten for at least a day, so our officers took them to In-N-Out (Burgers) for lunch,” Whitten said.

No one was injured in the chase, but the episode underscored growing concern among South County officials--particularly in San Clemente--about high-speed pursuits originating at the checkpoint.

The San Clemente City Council this week adopted a resolution urging state and federal officials to build a new checkpoint on I-5 closer to Oceanside. San Clemente officials want a $30-million, 16-lane checkpoint built at Las Pulgas Road, about 12 miles south of the city.

“Border Patrol chases through the city limits have posed grave hazards to the safety of our citizens and visitors, which is unacceptable to the city,” the resolution said.

San Clemente officials said they would seek support from neighboring cities in their relocation effort.

In recent weeks, three pursuits of suspected illegal aliens have ended in San Clemente.

San Clemente officials met Wednesday with Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) to discuss, among other things, the possibility of financing a new checkpoint with money allocated to fight international drug trafficking, said Assistant City Manager Gregory L. Hulsizer. But Packard reportedly gave no indication that such money was available.

“We realize the need of the Border Patrol to do its job and the role it plays in immigration and the war on drugs,” Hulsizer said. “But at the same time, we share a concern with the safety of the people on our streets.”

Thursday’s chase did not spill onto San Clemente streets, but it did tie up traffic on the San Diego Freeway when officers shut down all four northbound lanes in Westminster after the stolen vehicle slowed down and the driver jumped out. A CHP officer then rammed the car, preventing it from rolling back onto the freeway.

The six passengers in the stolen car were being returned to Mexico. The driver was booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall for possession of a stolen vehicle, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving without a driver’s license and not wearing a seat belt, Whitten said.