Driver arrested after crashing into several cars in Mission Viejo parking lot

Several vehicles in a Mission Viejo parking lot were damaged when a driver believed to be under the influence of drugs repeatedly crashed into the vehicles and narrowly missed people who tried to intervene, according to authorities.

The driver of a dark Nissan Rogue, identified later as 33-year-old Aria Martin, repeatedly hit the vehicles on Thursday in a parking lot in the 24000 block of Chrisanta Drive before 1:30 p.m. according to Sgt. Mike Woodroof with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

In multiple TikTok videos and Twitter posts, Martin accelerated and crashed multiple times, but did not get out of the vehicle. One person confronted Martin but had to jump out of the way when her Nissan Rogue accelerated toward the person.

The Nissan Rogue collided with another parked car so hard that the Nissan left its bumper on the ground. Another person approached the driver’s side door and attempted to open the door, but let go when the driver reversed the SUV.

There were no reported injuries, Woodroof said.

Martin then left the parking lot and drove onto the 5 freeway heading southbound. She ended up in a construction zone, where the California Highway Patrol became involved.

Video from OnSceneTV showed at least one officer with a rifle aimed at the Nissan Rogue while it was stopped on the freeway. Traffic was brought to a halt as police responded to the incident and took Martin into custody.

She was arrested and booked on felony vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon charges. She was also charged with driving under the influence of drugs and reckless driving, Woodroof said. Martin is in custody and it’s unclear whether she was driving her own vehicle.