5-vehicle crash in Costa Mesa ends police pursuit of truck-theft suspect

A brief police pursuit of a truck-theft suspect ended in a five-vehicle crash Saturday in Costa Mesa, according to authorities.

A Costa Mesa woman was arrested on suspicion of stealing the truck.

The incident started at about 10:50 a.m., when Costa Mesa police responded to a report of a stolen pickup. Officers found the Chevrolet S-10 a short time later traveling north on Harbor Boulevard at Hamilton Street.

After a short chase, the driver swerved to the left and hit four vehicles traveling south near the 2300 block of Harbor, between Fair Drive and Wilson Street, according to a Police Department news release Monday.

The driver, identified as Destiney Nielson, 27,and her passenger, Jonathan Martinez, 21, of Costa Mesa, were taken to a nearby hospital, as were three other people who suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Southbound Harbor was shut down for about an hour because of the crash.

Nielson was booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft, driving under the influence and felony evasion. She also was a parolee at large, and a warrant was out for her arrest, according to police.

Authorities said Martinez was cited and released on “minor drug-related charges.”

Police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said Monday that she did not immediately have further information about the case or the outstanding warrant for Nielson.

[email protected]

Twitter @LukeMMoney