Man critical after driving into police car

COSTA MESA — A Costa Mesa man was in critical condition Thursday after police accused him of attempted murder for allegedly driving his truck into a police cruiser carrying his two sons.

About midnight Wednesday, police received a call from Donald Greene’s wife saying that he had just hit their 17-year-old son. En route to the scene, police got call from the teenager, who told dispatchers his father had a gun and had just fired it in their garage.

Police said Greene, 49, attacked his teenage son and his 28-year-old son.

Officers rushing to the scene learned Greene had driven off in a red Toyota Tacoma pickup and started cordoning off the area while other officers continued on to the home.

Police found Greene’s sons on foot not far from the house, the eldest one with a cut to his forehead from being hit with a ceramic floor tile, authorities said.

Officers put them in the back of a squad car for their own protection, said Lt. Bryan Glass.

Officers soon found Greene in his pickup and tried to pull him over, but he didn’t stop and drove back onto Continental Avenue, with the squad car carrying his kids in front of him.

Police said Greene punched the accelerator and drove head-on into the police car, making one officer dive out of the way to avoid being hit. The officer was uninjured. Greene’s sons suffered minor injuries, with the teenager being kept in the hospital overnight for observation.

Greene told police he was trying to kill himself, authorities said.

Firefighters had to remove Greene from his truck. He was pinned under the steering wheel and suffered a broken pelvis, possibly broken ribs and internal injuries. He was reported in critical condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and will be taken into custody upon his release.

Greene will eventually be booked on three counts of attempted murder for his two sons and the officer, and assault with a deadly weapon. His bail could be upward of $1 million, police said.

The .41-caliber handgun Greene fired was recovered at his home.