Driver Hurt as Crash Ends Chase
A 22-year-old man was hospitalized and in custody after leading police on a chase in a stolen car at speeds up to 90 mph along the Santa Ana Freeway, police said Sunday.
Jesus Verjara suffered severe leg, back and stomach injuries when his car crashed into a freeway divider. He remained in serious condition at the jail ward in Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, police said.
The chase began at 7 p.m. Saturday as police tried to pull over a Honda Accord that had run a red light on Main Street. When officers flashed their overhead lights, the driver of the car accelerated onto the southbound Santa Ana Freeway at Buffalo Avenue, Sgt. Dick Faust said.
Because freeway traffic at the time was relatively heavy, officers did not pursue the car at high speeds, instead following at a distance. Near the Costa Mesa Freeway interchange, the car swerved across four lanes in an attempt to enter the offramp but crashed into the divider in the process, Faust said.
Three passengers in the car, all juveniles, suffered minor injuries. They were treated at UCI Medical Center in Orange and released into custody of their parents.
Police determined that the vehicle had been stolen earlier in the day from the parking lot of a movie theater in Santa Ana.
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