Woman Rams Police Car; Chase Ends With Collision

A 34-year-old Villa Park woman rammed her car into a Tustin police cruiser Saturday evening, then led officers on a brief chase that ended in a collision involving three police vehicles, authorities said.

Officers were responding to a call of a disturbance around 6 p.m. at the Revere House restaurant, owned by Tustin Councilman Mike Doyle, when a police car was suddenly struck by a vehicle driven by Cynthia Louise Writer, said Tustin Police Sgt. Del Pickney.

The officer in the damaged vehicle followed Writer as she drove away, and two other police cruisers joined the chase. The pursuit lasted five minutes, ending when Writer crashed her car into all three chasing vehicles, Pickney said.

Investigators are trying to determine how all the police vehicles became involved in the collision, but believe the suspect may have tried to ram all three, Pickney said.

Following the crash, Writer allegedly refused to leave her car. Officers smashed one of the vehicle’s windows and hauled her out, Pickney said. She was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where she was evaluated for possibly being under the influence of drugs, he said.

No officers were hurt in the collisions, which caused only minor damage to the cars. Writer could face a charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, Pickney said.