Newport car chase ends in Laguna

A car chase that began in Newport Beach Thursday afternoon ended in the Festival of the Arts parking lot in Laguna Beach after 35 minutes, authorities said.

Newport Beach police arrested the female passenger for public intoxication. The male driver refused to cooperate with police when they asked him to exit the vehicle. He has not yet been arrested but was transported to Hoag Hospital with minor injuries, said Jennifer Manzella, spokeswoman for the department.

It is unclear what type of injuries the driver is being treated for and how he sustained them, but alcohol was a factor in the chase, she said.

Newport Beach police received a report that a white Toyota Camry was traveling erratically with a broken side mirror and bicycle attached to the passenger side of the vehicle, Manzella said.

Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over on Bayside Drive and Jamboree Road just after 4 p.m.

The vehicle failed to yield, so police pursued the driver down Coast Highway into Laguna Beach, Manzella said.

“In Laguna there were multiple attempts to stop the vehicle using pursuit-intervention techniques and spike strips,” she said.

The car’s highest speed recorded by police was 75 mph, authorities said.

The car eventually stopped on Laguna Canyon Road in the Festival of the Arts parking lot. The car’s back bumper had fallen off, and it had at least one flat tire.

— Hannah Fry and Bryce Alderton