Chase, crash hamper freeway traffic

Lolita Harper

Traffic ground to a halt on the southbound side of the Costa Mesa

Freeway on Friday morning after a police pursuit ended when an

unidentified female driver hit a construction barrier near the Baker

Street exit.

The morning commute along the stretch of the Costa Mesa Freeway

from the city of Tustin and south, is typically congested because of

freeway improvements, but the added low-speed police chase backed up

the freeway as far north as Orange, officials said.

The crashed vehicle and responding police, highway patrol,

paramedic and crime scene units clogged the slow lanes so severely

that the freeway was shut down.

The chase started in Santa Ana just outside of Century High School

when community resource officer Danny Padilla -- a fully sworn police

officer -- saw a woman driving very erratically, said Lucy

Araujo-Cook, the public information officer for the Santa Ana Unified

School District. Padilla, who has served as a school district officer

for three years and previously as a Santa Ana officer for eight,

noticed the older, red compact car near the entrance of the school.

“This officer is not new,” Araujo-Cook said. “He is experienced

and he saw something in close proximity to the students that he felt

he needed to take care of.”

Padilla reportedly followed the driver and tried to get her to

pull over, she said. The driver, who authorities are estimating is

about 18 or 19 years old, got onto the freeway, and Padilla, who was

right behind her, called Santa Ana police for back up.

Moments later, the woman crashed, at which time California Highway

Patrol and Costa Mesa Paramedic units responded. The woman was taken

to Western Medical Center for treatment.

“She was not going fast and did not appear to be seriously

injured,” Araujo-Cook said.

Although the incident itself was minor and only three agencies

formally responded to the accident, the slow-speed chase drew a

handful of police vehicles from Santa Ana and Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa Sgt. Bob Cizseck said none of the city’s officers were

officially requested at the scene, but it is not uncommon for patrol

units in the area to respond just in case. The chase was broadcast

over the “red channel,” a county-wide communication network that

broadcasts incidents such as this that cut across jurisdictions.

“We had no official units called to the scene, but it is not

unusual to parallel the chase to get in the area if they needed help

-- that way we could be there in a hurry,” Cizseck said.

Araujo-Cook said the woman, who was not carrying a valid driver’s

license, was suspected to be under the influence of some sort of

substance. She was not a student in the Santa Ana Unified School

District, Araujo-Cook said. The woman was taken into custody, but

Araujo-Cook said she could not confirm an arrest.

“She was so severely under the influence of something when she

crashed that the first priority was to get her medical attention,”

Araujo-Cook said. “Our officer made sure she was no longer a danger

to our students. Then, she apparently needed medical attention, so

that took precedent. I’m sure criminal charges will come if they are

warranted.”

Araujo-Cook said she was waiting for a written report from Santa

Ana police on the criminal aspects of the incident. That report had

not come in by press time.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at [email protected].