Driver of Stolen Car Ditches Police, Crashes
A speeding driver in a stolen car managed to elude police but then crashed into a guardrail of the Costa Mesa Freeway, authorities said.
The driver, whose identity was not immediately available, suffered leg injuries in the 9:40 p.m. accident and was pinned in the car before being cut from the vehicle, Santa Ana police Lt. Dave Petko said. Three passengers in the car received minor injuries, he said.
Police tried to stop the car for a possible vehicle code violation near the intersection of Main Street and Buffalo Avenue, Petko said. But the motorist sped away and got on the southbound Santa Ana Freeway, turning off his lights and accelerating to about 90 mph.
“Our officer lost touch with the car,” Petko said. “But witnesses told us he got to the carpool lane, then tried to cross four lanes almost diagonally to get on the southbound 55, and he didn’t make it.”
The car struck the freeway guardrail and came to a stop, police said. The driver was expected to be booked in connection with the stolen vehicle and for numerous driving violations.
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