Police: Driver trying to flee triggers chain-reaction crash; 6 hurt

A man suspected of drunken driving who was trying to flee from Costa Mesa police caused a chain-reaction crash that sent six people to hospitals Tuesday evening, according to authorities.

An officer tried to pull over a Toyota Corolla on Harbor Boulevard around 6:15 p.m., but the car made an “evasive maneuver” and kept traveling south near Wilson Street, Costa Mesa police Lt. Greg Scott said.

The Corolla sideswiped a Ford pickup just south of Wilson and crashed head-on into a Chevrolet Equinox facing north on Harbor, according to police.

The force of the crash caused the Equinox to spin out and hit a Hyundai that also was headed north on Harbor, Scott said.

The Equinox veered off the road and into a building, Scott said. The storefront, which houses the China Kitchen restaurant, was damaged, but not enough to be shut down, according to police.

Authorities closed Harbor Boulevard in both directions while they dealt with the aftermath of the crash, according to the Costa Mesa Fire Department.

Four injured people were taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, and two were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, Scott said. None of the injuries was life-threatening, police said.

Police identified the Corolla’s driver as Jose Chanico-Retana, 35, of Costa Mesa.

He was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and felony driving under the influence. The investigation is continuing, Scott said.

Chanico-Retana was still hospitalized with a broken nose Wednesday afternoon, according to police.