A man who led police on a brief car chase in Yorba Linda was hospitalized after he crashed the vehicle he was driving into a tree early Saturday, Dec. 16, authorities said.
The chase began around 4 a.m. when deputies received a call reporting a man driving along the 17000 block of Edgewood Lane, opening mailboxes and stealing mail, Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials said.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, the man fled, driving at a high rate of speed until he crashed into a tree two miles away, near the intersection of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway, officials said.
The suspect’s car was destroyed and he was taken to an area hospital in critical condition. On Saturday evening, sheriff’s officials said the man was entering his second surgery of the day.
His identity was not immediately released.
The Register’s Jordan Graham contributed
