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Two occupants of a speeding vehicle were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after slamming into a tree in Santa Ana Thursday night, officials said.

Drugs are also suspected to have played a role in the crash, Santa Ana police said in a news release.

Officers responded to the 3200 block of West Warner Avenue after street-racing activity was reported there around 11:35 p.m.

Police at the scene saw a car driving recklessly at a high speed, but the vehicle sped away east on Warner Avenue once the driver spotted officers nearby, authorities said.

Officers followed the car to pull it over, but the driver allegedly refused to stop, and a brief pursuit ensued.

The vehicle then blew a red light as it went through the intersection of Warner Avenue and Raitt Street, officials said.

The driver began to lose control of the car, and it ran into a tree in Warner’s center median.

Police did not say what kind of car it was, and it was impossible to make out from photos of the mangled wreckage authorities shared.

The vehicle’s two occupants were trapped, and firefighters had to extricate them. They were transported to a local hospital with major, life-threatening injuries, officers said.

The crash is being investigated as a possible drugged-driving incident, police said.

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