Local News in Brief : Irvine : 3 Arrested After Chase Punctuated by Accidents

Three Long Beach men were arrested on auto theft charges Tuesday after leading police on a high-speed chase that resulted in three separate collisions, authorities said.

Officer Gary Cain said the chase started about 5:10 p.m. when an Irvine patrol car responded to an auto burglary report and began following a blue Toyota van on Duryea Avenue. The van with three men inside then raced south on Jamboree Boulevard and headed north on the San Diego Freeway, getting off at Bristol Street where it clipped two cars before getting back on the freeway headed north.

Cain said the van again left the freeway at Harbor Boulevard and crashed into another car on the off-ramp. He said the men abandoned the van near the Costa Mesa Inn and were arrested after a foot chase by Irvine, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana officers.

There were no injuries in the three accidents. Police said all three men would be charged with auto theft, hit-and-run driving and evading arrest.

The suspects were identified as Jeffery Marlowe Morgan, 28, his brother Eric Christopher Morgan, 19, and Timothy Ray Butler, 24.