2 Sought in Freeway Kidnap-Rape

Investigators are asking for public help in finding two men who kidnapped and raped a 29-year-old woman who was stranded on the Santa Ana Freeway after a car accident, California Highway Patrol officials said Thursday.

The woman struck a van from behind at about 40 mph on the Santa Ana Freeway north of Alton Parkway about 5:45 p.m., triggering a chain-reaction collision involving another vehicle, CHP spokeswoman Angel Johnson said. No one was injured, but as the woman got out of her car to talk to the other drivers, a red compact car pulled up, Johnson said.

The woman told CHP investigators that the two men in the compact car kidnapped her at gunpoint and took her to San Diego County, possibly near Fallbrook. She was raped and later released, Johnson said.

“She walked to a phone and called police,” Johnson said. “The others involved in the accident said they saw her get into the car, but nothing else.”

Descriptions of the two kidnappers were not available. CHP officers are asking anyone with information about the accident or the kidnapping to call (714) 547-8311.