Motorist suspected of DUI careens through crash investigation site, hits CHP vehicle in Costa Mesa

Police arrested a motorist on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after he plowed into the back of a California Highway Patrol vehicle in Costa Mesa on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 13, while officers were investigating an earlier collision involving a wrong-way driver on the 55 Freeway.

The initial crash happened at about 3:36 a.m., just north of Victoria Street, California Highway Patrol Dispatcher Myra Delgado said. Callers reported that a Toyota Camry was traveling north in southbound lanes of the Freeway just before colliding with a Ford Expedition.

“When we first got here, we found multiple vehicles blocking lanes, some on the right shoulder, some up embankments, with multiple injuries,” CHP Sgt. Mikie Stoney said.

A nurse who was on her way to work was on the freeway at the time, and stopped to treat some of those who had been hurt, Stoney said.

Two people involved in the wrong-way collision were hospitalized, Delgado said. Details regarding the severity of their injuries, their identities, and which vehicle they had been traveling in were not immediately available.

Later, a white compact SUV sped through the area as officers were out on the freeway. It collided with at least one other vehicle that was stuck in traffic, then traveled through the scene of the earlier crash. It nearly struck several people before slamming into the back of stationary, unoccupied CHP vehicle, Stoney said.

“The officers were actually out in lanes at that time conducting the investigation,” he said. “When the vehicle came through, they were alerted to the errant vehicle’s presence and basically had to scramble up the embankment to get out of the way.”

The driver involved in the second collision was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, Stoney said. His identity was not immediately released.