A wrong-way motorist suspected of driving while under the influence crashed head-on into another vehicle Monday on the San Diego (5) Freeway in Mission Viejo while being pursued by officers, authorities said.
Sean Adam Stoddard, 19, of Mission Viejo, was booked on suspicion of burglary, felony evading, hit-and-run and driving under the influence, according to Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Lane Lagaret.
The chase started in Aliso Viejo, and the collision was reported at 4:22 a.m. on the northbound 5 Freeway near La Paz Road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Rafael Reynoso.
The suspect was driving northbound in the southbound lanes when his car collided with a Ford Mustang driven by a 42-year-old man who sustained minor injuries and was taken to an area hospital, Reynoso said.
The suspect bailed out of his car and tried to run away, but a sheriff’s helicopter crew spotted him hiding by some garbage cans in the neighborhood, Lagaret said.
—City News Service