3 Teens Arrested After Car Chase Ends in Crash

A 14-year-old boy led police on an erratic freeway chase that ended when he and his two companions crashed into a brick wall Monday near Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley, authorities said.

Police in Anaheim, where the pursuit began, arrested the juvenile and his two friends, ages 14 and 19, on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle and evading arrest.

Witnesses told police they saw three teenagers replacing a license plate on a four-door sedan about 8 a.m. in the 1000 block of South Lemon Street. When officers arrived, the car had been driven away, Police Lt. Dave Severson said.

“The officers [checked] a license plate that had been left behind,” Severson said. “It turns out the license plate belonged to a car that was stolen in Santa Ana two days earlier.”

Shortly after the witnesses called police, Officer Glenn Gate saw a car matching the description of the stolen vehicle a few blocks away from the Lemon Street scene and attempted to stop the driver, Severson said.

The chase started at Haster Street and Orange Avenue, and continued on the Garden Grove Freeway at speeds approaching 80 mph during congested morning traffic, investigators said. Several police units pursued the vehicle, which weaved through neighborhood streets before plowing into a concrete block wall at Edinger Avenue and Brookhurst Street.

Police took the two juveniles into custody at the crash scene and arrested the 19-year-old, Juan Espinosa of Anaheim.

Espinosa is being held in lieu of $10,000 at the city jail. The juveniles are from Santa Ana and Tustin.

Officials said no one was injured.

In December, three high-speed chases involving police resulted in five deaths, prompting questions about the necessity of pursuits, according to police.

“It was congested out there,” Severson said of Monday’s chase. “It’s very fortunate that no one was injured.”

Lee Franklin, who lives near the block wall into which the teenagers crashed, said she had been asleep at the time and was awakened by the sound of the impact.

“I was very surprised,” she said. “I didn’t know what had happened.”