Woman Who Plowed Several Cars In South OC Parking Lot Charged

MISSION VIEJO, CA — A 33-year-old woman was charged Tuesday with slamming several cars in a parking lot in Mission Viejo before a standoff with the police on the Interstate 5 Freeway.

Aria Alexandra Martin was charged with five counts of assault with a deadly weapon and 13 counts of vandalism, all felonies, as well as single misdemeanor counts each of driving under the influence of a drug and resisting arrest, court records say.

Martin is accused of ramming multiple cars at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a parking lot in Mission Viejo. The incident was captured by several witnesses on now-viral video, reports say.

Once police were called, Martin left the area and was eventually pulled over on the Interstate 5 Freeway south of Oso Parkway.

She initially refused to get out of her car and prompted authorities to close down that side of the freeway for the afternoon, snarling traffic and creating headaches for commuters.