Man Suspected of Hit-Run Driving

Investigators have arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and drunk driving after his van veered into a man changing a tire on the shoulder of Interstate 5.

The accident left Russell Welsh, 62, of San Juan Capistrano in critical condition at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, said Officer Carol Kelly, spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol.

Welsh was changing a rear left tire on the side of Interstate 5 south of El Toro Road about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday when a white van struck him, hurling him several feet into the middle of the road, investigators said.

A witness who saw the accident jotted down the van’s license plate, which later led police to Shan C. Shih of Mission Viejo, who was arrested at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday. He is being held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000.

CHP authorities issued a public warning Thursday urging drivers to avoid changing tires beside the freeway.

“A lot of people don’t want to drive on their rim once they realize that they have a flat,” Kelly said. “What is more important is slowly driving off the freeway on the right shoulder and exiting the freeway to a well-lighted gas station. . . . Whether it is day or night, the freeway is not a safe place to change a tire.”