Pregnant Mom Sideswiped By Stolen OC Transit Bus

COSTA MESA, CA — A pregnant mom was sideswiped during a wild vehicle pursuit Thursday evening. Irvine Police chased down a stolen transit authority shuttle bus. The driver of the stolen bus reportedly sideswiped this young mother-to-be on her way home from work before the chase ended, ABC7 reported.

The driver, Valerie Barrow and her 18-week-along baby, were recovering in the hospital under doctor's care, ABC7 reported.

Husband, Josh Barrow, told reporters he saw the helicopter circling where she would be exiting the freeway. Valerie and the baby were fine, he said, his wife was just "shaken up and sore.

The incident began when a suspect stole an empty Orange County Transit Authority shuttle bus in Irvine and set off on a half-hour chase west, ending with a crash into a guardrail on a Costa Mesa freeway, an Irvine Police spokeswoman said.

The bus was taken in the area of Barranca Parkway and Harvard Avenue, according to Irvine police.

"A motorcycle officer spotted the bus on the Santa Ana (5) Freeway and tried to pull it over, but the suspect didn't yield and allegedly tried to run down the officer but was unsuccessful, according to Irvine Police Department Public Information Officer Kim Mohr.

The officer was not injured, Mohr said.

The California Highway Patrol took over the chase, which made its way onto the southbound Costa Mesa (55) Freeway and the suspect crashed the bus into a guardrail while exiting at Fairview Road at just after 6:45 p.m., authorities said.

The suspect got out and attempted to flee, but was quickly taken into custody by CHP officers, Mohr said.

Irvine Bus Pursuit CRASH 55 at Fairview the stolen bus with a flat tire loses control and crashes. The suspect runs but not far as CHP take him into custody @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/zt54buqQWd
— stu mundel (@Stu_Mundel) May" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/Stu_Mundel... 18, 2018

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