100-M.P.H. Freeway Chase of Parolee Ends in Crash

A parolee fleeing from police crashed his car on the Costa Mesa Freeway Friday afternoon after leading CHP officers on a chase from Riverside County to Orange County that reached 100 m.p.h., authorities said.

The chase ended when Jeffrey Alan McKinney, 28, lost control of his car which spun out on the rain-slicked freeway and landed on its side, officers said.

Neither McKinney nor his passenger, Norma Marek, 28, was injured in the 3:50 p.m. accident which occurred south of Katella Avenue, said CHP officer Bill Wedderburn.

The chase began at Lake Elsinore at about 3 p.m. when sheriff’s deputies tried to contact McKinney, who is on parole for attempted murder. They had received a report that he was abusing children and was threatening people, Lake Elsinore Sgt. Van Hofwegan said.

As deputies approached McKinney’s home, they spotted him driving in the opposite direction. When they tried to stop him, he drove onto the northbound Interstate 15 where the Riverside CHP joined in the pursuit, Hofwegan said.

“The Santa Ana CHP took over on the Riverside Freeway at Gypsum Canyon Road,” Wedderburn said. “He was in the vicinity of Katella Avenue on the southbound (Costa Mesa) Freeway when he crashed.”

McKinney was arrested on suspicion of felony evading arrest and on a warrant for violating parole. He was transported to the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station. Marek was taken to the sheriff’s station for questioning but she was not arrested, Hofwegan said.