Police Arrest 3 Men After Freeway Chase, Vehicle Crash

Three men who eluded police during a chase on two freeways Wednesday night were arrested after their car struck another car, rammed a police cruiser and then crashed into a brick wall in a residential area.

The chase began about 7:20 p.m. after a resident called police and reported seeing what seemed to be three armed men coming out of a Fullerton convenience store, said Fullerton Police Officer Michael Chlebowski.

The suspects then got on the Riverside Freeway and refused to stop for police, Chlebowski said. They then got on the Orange Freeway and soon exited.

More than 20 police cars, motorcycle officers and a police helicopter joined in the chase.

Near Magnolia and Orangethorpe avenues, the car struck another car and then turned onto a residential area. As the suspects headed west on Vine Avenue, the driver narrowly missed one police cruiser and then rammed into another, lost control and hit the brick wall of a house on Porter Avenue.

Bill Campbell, 60, who manages two apartment complexes across the street, said, “I saw them hit that police car and then they went into the wall.” Two men “went down to the ground immediately and were jumped on by cops who were everywhere.”

The third man ran across Cora Duran’s lawn as she stepped outside to see what all the noise was about.

“I was so scared,” said Duran, 62, still visibly shaken after the ordeal. “I saw this man coming in my direction, coming right across our front lawn and I ran! I didn’t want to be his hostage. I was petrified.”

Edward Duran, 62, said he pushed his wife out of the way to avoid any confrontation with the fleeing suspect.

The three suspects were identified as Peter William Acosta, 26; Caesar Ballez, 19; and Lisandro Rodriguez, 19.

After all three were handcuffed and taken into custody, the Durans assessed the damage to a tree, hedges and their brick wall.

The eight-mile chase lasted only a few minutes, Chlebowski said.