IRVINE : Orange-Throwing Suspect Flees Police

A person suspected of throwing oranges at motorists managed to elude police Monday night by driving a stolen pickup truck on the wrong side of the San Diego Freeway, then over an embankment, police said Tuesday.

Before going over the embankment, the truck collided with a northbound car occupied by an Irvine couple, who suffered minor injuries, said police Lt. Al Muir. The truck was later found abandoned.

“It was definitely a bizarre incident,” Muir said. “Unfortunately, whoever was in the truck got away.”

The strange chain of events began about 10 p.m., when police received a report that someone was throwing oranges at vehicles on the east side of Jeffrey Road, where there is an orange grove, Muir said.

“An officer arrives, looks into his rearview mirror, and sees a red Toyota pickup truck leaving the area,” Muir said. “He gets behind the truck and activates his lights and siren. The truck then gets on the northbound freeway traveling southbound.”

At Sand Canyon Avenue police lost sight of the truck, which was traveling on the shoulder of the freeway. There, it was involved in the hit-and-run accident, according to the California Highway Patrol.

“We located the vehicle down the embankment and it had been deserted,” Muir said. “We conducted a search of the area with a helicopter and canine units, but whoever was in the vehicle got away.” The couple suffered cuts and bruises.

Muir said the truck had been reported stolen in Tustin earlier that evening.

Police said they are “fairly certain” that the driver of the stolen truck was responsible for throwing the oranges. No one was injured in that incident.