Traffic Accidents

Michael Elliot Tomson, Gotcha Co-Founder, Gotcha'd by Cops for DUI and Coke Possession

Gotcha Mr. Gotcha!Michael Elliot Tomson, the 58-year-old co-founder of the Gotcha surfwear brand, has been charged with felony DUI and possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor being under the influence of drugs following a traffic accident Monday in Laguna Beach.

Burning Man Festival Comes to Anaheim

Anaheim Police are investigating the case of a man's body found inside a burning car early this morning as a homicide.But residents of the 100 block of South Westchester Drive suspect the tragedy was an accident.Or was it a suicide?

Santa Ana, Garden Grove Hold Sobriety Stops Tonight; Distracted Drivers Targeted Across OC

Some recent sobriety checkpoints in Orange County netted no or very few DUI arrests despite thousands of cars passing through them. Interpret that as you will--they're working or they're unnecessary--not that it matters what you think as more stops are coming, starting tonight in Santa Ana and Gar ... More >>

Hit and Runner

[Hey, You!] Watch out for the late-model Beamer with passenger-side damage

Tustin Cop at DUI Crash Scene Injured in Second Suspected DUI Collision

A Tustin police officer on the scene for the arrest of a suspected drunk driver who smashed into a pole was injured while sitting in his marked patrol car, which was rammed into by a car driven by a second suspected drunk early today.The officer's agency has not yet released his name, specified his ... More >>

Anaheim Police Target Two-Wheelers

You know Anaheim Police have a thing for parolees.This month, cops there are also keeping an eye out especially for unlawful motorcyclists.So, if you are a parolee on a bike . . .

Better Call Glew: Hit-And-Run With a Parking Lot Pole

Hi Mr. Glew,Right now I'm on probation. Last month I was leaving an ATM and I backed my truck into a painted pole in the bank's parking lot. I didn't hit it hard so I just left. Later I noticed a little bit of paint on my bumper but nothing major. Yesterday the police came to my house and questioned ... More >>

[UPDATED with Victim Speaks Out:] Daniel Tosh Has Nothing on This Hit-and-Run Footage

See update at end of post.ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 11, 3:36 P.M.: In an attempt to locate the driver and passenger of a vehicle that rammed into a 20-year-old man, who was thrown into the windshield and air, the Buena Park Police Department has released the graphic surveillance video that is shown after ... More >>

[UPDATED with Checkpoints Tonight in Sous-a Ana, Wet-minster and Beer Garden Grove:] Extra DUI Patrols in Drank Forest, Mixin' Viejo and Rancho Santa Margaritaville

UPDATE, JUNE 8, 11:11 A.M.: In addition to the sheriff's department's DUI patrols in Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and Ranch Santa Margarita, city police agencies hold sobriety checkpoints tonight in Westminster, Santa Ana and Garden Grove.The Westminster and Garden Grove police departments did not ann ... More >>

The Avengers

Alex's Bar

Police Cracking Down on Distracted Drivers This Month (This Means You, Vehicular Sexters)

​Save the sexting until after you've parked your Prius. Thanks to Congress, it's National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The California Highway Patrol and law enforcement agencies up and down the state will be on the lookout for lawbreakers, conducting zero-tolerance enforcements.

Somewhere in Costa Mesa There's a Sobriety Checkpoint Saturday Night

​The Costa Mesa Police Department is running a DUI checkpoint Saturday night.As is agency policy, the location of the operation is not being released.Wherever it is, it's scheduled to run from 8 p.m. through 2 a.m. Sunday.

Chi Cheng, Deftones Bassist, Showing Signs of Emerging From Three Year Coma

​Bassist Chi Cheng of the Deftones was involved in a high-speed car accident in Santa Barbara in November 2008. Cheng, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, was ejected from his vehicle and consequently fell into a coma. Now, three years and two months later, Cheng is finally s ... More >>

Irvine Cops Go After Drivers Who Eat, Text or Otherwise Don't Pay Attention Behind Wheel

​Jorene Ypanto Nicolas pleaded not guilty at her arraignment on manslaughter charges Monday despite law enforcement's contention the San Diego 29-year-old's distracted driving caused the death of 23-year-old Deanna Mauer. Inattentive motoring--which can include eating, texting or just not paying ... More >>

Rand Study On Medical Pot Among Year's Worst, Scientific American Says

​Remember that Rand Corporation study from earlier this year that claimed crime actually increased in L.A. neighborhoods where cops closed medical marijuana dispensaries? The one that forgot to include crime statistics compiled by the Los Angeles Police Department?? The one that Rand had to retrac ... More >>

Roving DUI Patrols Hit Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods Tonight

​The Orange County Sheriff's Department holds DUI roving patrols tonight in Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods.Deputies will target areas that have a high incidence of DUI-related arrests and collisions, according to a department release.

Gabrielle Jane Nestande, Ex-OC Supe's Daughter, Chided by Hit-and-Run Victim's Father

​Speaking out in the media about the death of her daughter, who a former Orange County supervisor's daughter is accused of killing, has mostly fallen to Courtney Griffin's mother. But now the father of the late 30-year-old Austin, Texas, nanny, is chiming in for the first time, vowing that the que ... More >>

Ambulance Chasing? There's an App for That

​You're sitting there at the side of the road with another slack-jawed driver you've just engaged in a fender bender. Time was, you'd fumble for paper and pen and switch names and digits with the other bumper carsman for insurance deductible considerations to be figured out later. But now, a Newpo ... More >>

Sobriety Checkpoints in Buena Park Tonight, Westminster Saturday Night

​Sobriety checkpoint fever heats up tonight in Buena Park and Saturday night in Westminster.Buena Park Police's DUI/drivers license stop will be at the intersection of Stanton Avenue and Beach Boulevard from 7 tonight to 3 a.m. Saturday. Cops there note that over the past three years, DUI collisio ... More >>

[UPDATED with Conviction:] John Hines, Long Beach Fire Captain, Guilty of DUI Hit and Run of Cyclist

​UPDATE, SEPT. 6, 2:59 P.M.: Long Beach Fire Department Capt. John Hines pleaded guilty today to severely injuring a cyclist in a mid-day hit-and-run crash while driving with a blood alcohol level of .24 percent, three times the legal limit. The 38-year-old Huntington Beach resident accepted a co ... More >>

DUI Patrols Cover Stanton and Villa Park Tonight

​If you're getting your drink on in Stanton and/or Villa Park tonight, be advised to have a designated driver along.The Orange County Sheriff's Department this morning announced roving DUI patrols in those contract cities.

[UPDATED with Conviction:] Gustavo Adrian Vega, Repeat Drunken Driver Accused of Murdering Cara Alexandra Lee, Stands Trial

​UPDATE, JUNE 30, 4:58 P.M.: A jury today found second-time drunken driver Gustavo Adrian Vega guilty of murder, hit-and-run resulting in death and possession of cocaine for the Valentine's Day 2010 crash in Costa Mesa that killed 20-year-old aspiring model Cara Alexandra Lee.Vega, 23, of Costa M ... More >>

[UPDATED with Alcohol Cited:] Ex-OC Supervisor, Assemblyman and Booze Hound Bruce Nestande's Daughter Accused of Fatal Hit-and-Run

UPDATE, JUNE 8, 12:30 P.M.: ​The first post on this story began by tying in a drunken driving crash caused by former Orange County Supervisor and state Assemblyman Bruce Nestande in Newport Beach a few years ago with a hit-and-run death blamed on his 23-year-old daughter, Gabrielle Jane Nestande, ... More >>

[UPDATED with Results:] Irvine Holds DUI Checkpoint Close to UCI

​UPDATED, MAY 9, 8:39 A.M.: Besides reporting no significant traffic delays, the Irvine Police Department released the following statistics from Friday night's sobriety checkpoint at Campus Drive and Bridge Road: Vehicles stopped: 545Sobriety tests: 9DUI arrests: 2Citations issued: 10

[UPDATED with Arraignment:] John Hines, Long Beach Fire Captain, Arrested for Felony Hit and Run

​UPDATE, MAY 3, 9:36 A.M.: Long Beach Fire Department Capt. John Hines turned himself in to an Orange County court this morning on a $250,000 arrest warrant and was to be arraigned immediately on felony drunken driving and hit-and-run charges that could keep him in state prison for nearly seven ye ... More >>

[UPDATED with Charges, Drunk-Ass Claims:] John Hines, Long Beach Fire Captain, Arrested for Felony Hit and Run

​UPDATE, APRIL 27, 10:08 A.M.: Long Beach Fire Department Capt. John Hines began drinking April Fools Day morning at Schooner or Later bar in Long Beach, became heavily intoxicated and early that afternoon climbed behind the wheel of his Chevy pick-up, swerved into a bicyclist who was thrown 70 fe ... More >>

Long Beach Cops Hold DUI Checkpoint Tonight, Costa Mesa Kicks Off the First of 2 This Month on Saturday

​There will be a DUI checkpoint from 6 tonight to 2 a.m. Saturday within Long Beach's South Patrol Division, which includes Anaheim Street to the ocean and from Cherry Avenue to the western edge of the city.Costa Mesa holds the first of two DUI checkpoints this month from 7 p.m. Saturday to 1 a. ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Colt Brennan, Former Mater Dei QB, In Car Accident And In 'Serious Condition'

The record-setting QB is in a Hawaii hospital in serious condition.Update, November 22, 11:03 a.m.: Terry Brennan indicated to reporters that his son, Colt, is "heavily sedated" and is "far from being alert." Colt is able to acknowledge that family and doctors are in the room, through hand signals, ... More >>

The Funniest Food-Related Traffic Accident Report Of The Week

http://www.sxc.hu​Traffic accidents are rarely funny. But if no one is hurt and it involves 39,000 pounds of cheese and a truck fire, you bet it is. Add to that mix a newspaper reporter with a penchant for puns and what results is comedy gold! In his report, Sean Dugas, writer for News Herald ... More >>

Not Dead Yet

[Hey, You!] Dogs are living, breathing animals, not fashion accessories

Kevin Noel Schlueter and Mark Wayne Hewlett, Both Cops, Face Jail for DUIs

​Anaheim police officer Kevin Noel Schlueter was charged today with driving under the influence of drugs after crashing into four parked cars. It's the 37-year-old Costa Mesa resident's third DUI, and not to be confused with the DUI charge brought against Orange County sheriff's deputy Mark Wayn ... More >>

DUI Patrols Out in Force Tonight

​Is it news that the Orange County Sheriff's Department will be looking extra hard for drunks behind the wheel tonight, or would it be news if they were not?Either way, the force announced "saturation patrols" will be out there as part of the "Avoid the 38" DUI Task Force, which is funded by the C ... More >>

3 Hurt, 2 Killed, 1 Murder Charge in DUI-Crash Weekend

​As previously blogged, Anaheim Police conducted a DUI checkpoint and saturation patrols Friday evening through the wee hours Saturday, while the Orange County Sheriff's Department also stepped up patrols aimed at getting drunk drivers off the streets of Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills an ... More >>

Deputies Hunt for Drunken Drivers in South County Tonight

​Anaheim is not the only Orange County town launching DUI saturation patrols tonight.

Final Tally in For Holiday DUI Checkpoints

​In the weeks leading up to and including New Year's Day, Navel Gazing carried several posts warning of DUI checkpoints set up all over Orange County. The multi-agency 2009 Winter Holiday Mobilization operation, which was made possible through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety a ... More >>

DEL TACO Crime of the Week?!?!?!

The chain's biggest crime? Firing Dan...A reader once asked me why I pick on Taco Bell so much by highlighting the crimes that take place at the various outposts of the Irvine-based megachain. I was polite and explained that the Bell is perhaps the most widely-distributed culinary export we have, an ... More >>

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, 
Mad World

Regency South Coast Village

[Hey, You!] Don't Drinko and Drivo

The Mother of All Movie Curses?

As you no doubt have heard by now, Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was seriously injured in a car accident today. As you probably heard from Mark McGrath by now, Freeman's accident is now being lumped in with a supposed “Curse of The Dark Knight,” a spate of recent tragedies suffered by other ... More >>

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson goes on a . . .

. . . rampage. Of course he does. In what assorted Internet pundits are already calling the stupidest hit-and-run ever, Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar (and Irvine resident) Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who was the subject of this 2007 Weekly cover story, was arrested yesterday in Balboa aft ... More >>

What You Missed Over the Weekend Part XVIII

This weekend had so many festivals going on that both Navel Gazing and Heard Mentality were working through the weekend. First, we had Luke Y. Thompson pulling double duty blogging his little heart out at the Newport Beach Film Festival AND attending his big movie premiere in Hollywood. While Dave ... More >>

So you think your day was bad?

An 84 year-old man in Laguna Woods was using a walker and fell over; then, while he was being treated by a firefighter, he was hit by a car, the LA Times reports. The man suffered broken bones, asphalt abrasions, and burns. He was listed as being in critical condition Sunday night. The firefighter ... More >>

Wednesday's Headlines. No Surprises: Disney wins

More dirt on Debbie? Yesterday we noted that Debbie Carona was doing her darndest to wriggle her way out of a case that's mainly against her husband. Wait a second, missy. Today, Christine Hanley and Garrett Therolf at the Times report that the sheriff's wife urged Orange County Fair Board director ... More >>

Illegal Fact-Stretching in Costa Mesa (Again)

Last summer, a white out-of-towner murdered Costa Mesa resident Israel Maciel. The killer's identity, however, wasn't known before migra Mayor Allan Mansoor told the Daily Pilot that the incident "shows we still have work to do, but it takes time to remove the welcome mat. When you have job centers, ... More >>

Cognitive Overload as a Motorsport

There's good news if you're one of those people infuriated by the sight of some idiot behind the steering wheel with a cell phone pressed to his head talking and not paying attention while driving-- that idiot's days are numbered. Come Summer 2008, that idiot will be replace by the new and improved ... More >>

Albertsons Wants Me Dead

Orange school trustee Steve Rocco charges supermarket with murder attempt

The Car Crash Set

Five more musicians who put the pedal through the metal

New Vice City

Cops say white-collar criminal ran down pedestrian

All Over the Road

Reg photographer Mell Kilpatricks car-crash photography takes a dark journey beyond the American highway

Crash Test Dummies

A state law that was supposed to save teens from themselves backfires