Felony charges were filed Tuesday against a 19-year-old man with a DUI revoked license accused of driving drunk in a police chase that ended in a wrong-way crash on the San Diego (5) Freeway in Mission Viejo.
Sean Adam Stoddard of Mission Viejo is charged with first-degree burglary, failing to stop at a hit-and-run collision with injury, evading police and car theft, all felonies, along with a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended or revoked license due to a DUI.
Stoddard pleaded guilty May 24 of last year to driving under the influence of alcohol and vandalism, both misdemeanors. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and placed on three years of informal probation.
Stoddard’s probation was revoked in July of last year and he was sentenced to another two weeks in jail in August, according to court records.
Monday’s 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 was treated at an area hospital for minor injuries, 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, according to Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Lane Lagaret.