Man Who Tried To Run Down 2 Teens With Car At Orange County Middle School Charged

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A 40-year-old man was charged Thursday with attempting to run over two teenage boys in Orange County and leading authorities on a chase that ended when his car flipped in a water channel.

Santa Ana Police officers were dispatched to MacArthur Intermediate School in response to reports that a man was attempting to run over pedestrians in his vehicle at around 4:40 p.m. Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, one victim was a 14-year-old boy and the other was a 13-year-old boy.

When responding officers attempted to stop the driver he led them on a chase that ended when he careened into a water channel at 3000 S. Flower St. and overturned the van, police said.

The car caught fire and the suspect bailed and tried to run away from officers, police said. Police found him hiding in a drainage tunnel, police said.

The suspect, Nicolas Sanudo, was arrested by the Santa Ana Police Department and booked for assault with a deadly weapon and evading a peace officer.

Nicolas M. Sanudo was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count each of vandalism and leading police on a chase, all felonies, as well as single misdemeanor counts each of hit and run with property damage and resisting arrest. He pleaded not guilty and a pretrial hearing was scheduled for March 3 in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

Sanudo was also charged with vandalism of Santa Ana Unified School District property, according to the complaint.