Freeway Driver Critically Wounded by Shot in Neck

A 19-year-old motorist was shot in the neck and critically wounded on the Garden Grove Freeway early Tuesday, prompting authorities to shut down traffic for more than four hours.

Investigators said they were trying to determine whether the attack was gang related.

“Right now, that is a possibility . . . and so far, we have just barely scratched the surface,” California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Lundquist said. “We hadn’t been able to talk to [the victim] because he is unconscious.”

Tung Nguyen of Orange was shot once in the neck and underwent surgery at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

The CHP had received a call reporting an an accident at 12:25 a.m. Tuesday. Officers found a 1993 white Honda Accord blocking the freeway’s fast lane on the eastbound side at Bristol Street, Lundquist said.

The victim was alone in the car, which skidded along a road divider before rolling to a stop in the fast lane, Lundquist said. The shooting appeared to have occurred about one-quarter mile from where his car was found.

The assailants might have been riding in two other cars on the freeway, according to Lundquist.

No other motorists were hurt.

The freeway was closed from 12:40 to 5 a.m as officers looked for evidence.

Police asked that anyone with information about the shooting call CHP Accident Investigations at (714) 567-6000.