Man injured in police pursuit crash

A Lake Forest man suffered life-threatening injuries Wednesday after crashing into a greenbelt along East Coast Highway in Newport Beach following a police pursuit that started in Irvine, authorities said.

The 22-year-old man, whom police have declined to identify, was thrown from his Porsche Boxter near the Promontory Point luxury apartments and was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana in critical condition, Newport Beach Sgt. Evan Sailor said.

The pursuit started at about 12:45 a.m. when the Porsche ran a red light southbound at Jamboree Road and Dupont Drive in plain view of a police car, Irvine Lt. Rick Handfield said.

The driver was going between 45 and 55 mph as he weaved in and out of all lanes of traffic, Handfield said.

The driver tried to turn right onto East Coast Highway, but was going too fast, lost control and smashed into the greenbelt, Sailor said.

Irvine police are handling the criminal side of the chase and Newport Beach investigators are looking into the accident portion, police said.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.