Driver Shot Five Times, Crashes Into Tree

A man was hospitalized in critical condition Thursday after he was shot at least five times while driving in Placentia, where he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree, authorities said.

Placentia police responded about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday to a report of  "a traffic accident with shots fired" outside the Cinnamon Tree Condominiums at Kramer and Chapman avenues, across the city's police station, said Placentia Police Department Sgt. Brian Perry.

Officers found the victim still inside his car, which was resting against a tree, he said.

The man was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in critical condition, suffering from at least five gunshot wounds, with surgery scheduled for late Wednesday night, Perry said.

A woman who identified herself as Maria told an On Scene Video camera crew that her nephew, a married man in his mid 30s and father of three children, had just pulled out of the complex and was headed to the gym when he was shot.

Perry said the motive for the attack was not immediately known. Relatives of the victim told On Scene that he had no gang ties.

Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to call Placentia police at 714-993-8164.