SANTA ANA : Driver Hits Pickup After Being Shot

A 16-year-old fleeing from a gunman in a car behind him was shot in the back and then collided with an oncoming pickup truck Friday morning, police said.

A gunman fired at least two shots from a car at Javier Rendon as he traveled east along Walnut Street at 7:48 a.m., police said.

One bullet pierced his car’s trunk, traveling through the driver’s seat and into Rendon’s lower back, said Lt. Robert Helton.

As Rendon approached Sycamore Street, he turned left and apparently lost control of his car, police said.

He collided with a pickup truck carrying four people headed south on Sycamore Street.

The impact of the crash forced the pickup off the street and into a fence, Helton said.

The gunman chasing Rendon sped off and remained at large, police said.

Police believe there were four people in the car, but had no further details about it or the attackers.

The people in the pickup truck and Rendon were taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

They were not seriously injured; Rendon was treated for a superficial bullet wound to his back, according to police.

Investigators, who were trying to piece together what happened before the shooting, said they think the incident is gang-related but do not know why Rendon was being chased or when the chase began.