Man Suspected of Drunk Driving Is Badly Hurt as Speeding Car Overturns

COSTA MESA —  A man suspected of drunk driving was in critical condition Wednesday after his car flipped over while he was driving at high speeds in a residential neighborhood, police said.

Jaime Sanchez Mendoza, 21, of Costa Mesa appears to have been thrown out a back window of his vehicle when it ran off the road on the 2100 block of Pacific Avenue about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Thrown onto the street, Mendoza suffered major head injuries in the accident and was listed in critical condition Wednesday in the intensive-care unit of Western Medical Center-Anaheim, a nursing supervisor said.

A passenger in the vehicle, Jaime Sanchez Cruz, 19, of Costa Mesa, was released from College Hospital in Costa Mesa on Tuesday night with minor bruises. Police said he was apparently spared serious injuries because he was wearing a seat belt.

Police Investigator Steven Rautus said Mendoza may have been driving more than 50 m.p.h. southbound down Pacific Avenue before losing control of his vehicle. “It wound up in the northbound lane . . . on its right side. The car was totaled,” he said.

While blood-alcohol levels were not available Wednesday, Rautus said it is believed that Mendoza had been drinking before the accident. Because a passenger was injured, Mendoza will be charged with felony drunk driving, the investigator said.