Driver’s Rage Injures 4, Sends Car Into Store

An apparent case of road rage in a Santa Ana parking lot landed four people in the hospital Tuesday, one in jail and a car in the lobby of a Santa Ana discount store, authorities said.

“It’s another example of what can happen when tempers get out of hand over a minor incident,” said Sgt. Baltazar De La Riva, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department.

At about 5:30 p.m., Laval Duke Vallare, 39, of Tustin was driving west through the parking lot of the Double Discount store at 2700 W. Edinger Ave., investigators said.

When another car cut in front of him to pull into a parking spot in front of the store, Vallare apparently stopped his car, took a knife from the trunk and chased the driver of the other vehicle into the store, De La Riva said.

Then he got back into his car and rammed the other vehicle several times until it smashed through a plate-glass window and into the store, destroying a counter and several displays, police said.

Jose Meza, 21, of Santa Ana, the driver of the other car, was standing beside it when it was rammed, De La Riva said, and suffered minor leg injuries.

He was treated at a local hospital, as were three store employees who had minor injuries, De La Riva said.

Vallare was arrested and booked into Santa Ana Jail on suspicion of assault with at least two deadly weapons--the knife and the car.

“Unfortunately, some people have short fuses,” De La Riva said.