Father and teen daughter help chase down SUV after hit-and-run crash in Costa Mesa

After witnessing a hit-and-run crash that left a motorcyclist injured in Costa Mesa, a man and his 15-year-old daughter helped chase down the vehicle believed to be involved, police said Wednesday.

Officers responded around 9:05 p.m. Tuesday after the girl and her father called police to report the crash, which occurred at Victoria and Maple streets.

An Isuzu Rodeo “was driving down Victoria and hit a motorcyclist and then ran, so me and my dad chased him down to Pinecreek Apartments [on Fairview Road],” Giannina Bauer, the daughter, told a news photographer. “It was scary, because we saw it happen.”

She said they were motivated to follow the SUV because her uncle had suffered brain damage after being struck by a hit-and-run driver.

The two chased the vehicle for a couple of miles before the driver and a passenger got out and ran, according to Roxi Fyad of the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Giannina said officers arrived about five minutes later.

Police took one person into custody whose name was not released. The other remained at large, according to Fyad.

The injured motorcyclist’s condition was described as stable.