A SANTA ANA man was killed in a multi-car crash Saturday in Westminster (Shutterstock).

A multi-car crash in Westminster took the life of a Santa Ana man early Saturday morning.

According to police, the incident took place around 2:30 a.m. in the area of Newhope Street and McFadden Avenue. The Orange County Coroner’s office identified the driver as Juan Ayala, 23.

Ayala reportedly drove his car into a parked vehicle at such a speed that it caused a “chain reaction” among several automobiles.

Ayala was identified by a witness as the driver involved in a hit-and-run earlier, according to police.

Car theft suspect held, vehicle returned

Westminster police were able to locate a suspect and the missing vehicle in a car theft incident last week.

According to the WPD, on June 9 detectives received information about a stolen vehicle near Edwards Street and Westminster Boulevard. It was also determined that the automobile was related to a burglary that had happened earlier in the day in Irvine.

The vehicle was found unoccupied in the parking lot of the Big Lots store, and police believed the suspect was inside a nearby store.

After 20 minutes, the suspect came back to the vehicle and tried to drive away. Officers arrested the suspect, who was then booked into Orange County Jail. Irvine police came to the scene and returned the wayward auto to its legal owner.

Crash kills one, closes 405 Freeway lanes

Several lanes of the San Diego Freeway (405) were closed early Friday morning when a traffic accident took the life of one person in an incident in Westminster.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the crash – in which one vehicle reportedly burst into flames – took place in the southbound freeway near Valley View Street around 4:54 a.m. The incident shut down the two right lanes of the freeway.

The cause of the accident is under investigation and the identity of the person killed was not immediately available.