A Santa Ana driver is accused of luring a puppy toward her minivan with dog food, then slowly rolling forward to crush the animal beneath her rear tire, before driving off as if nothing happened. The Santa Ana Police Department says the killing happened outside 926 West Park Lane on September 8, and investigators only released surveillance video of the encounter on September 30, nearly three weeks later.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the delay in releasing the footage came because detectives spent weeks canvassing the West Park Lane neighborhood near West 1st Street and the Interstate 5 freeway, hoping to identify the driver or read the minivan's license plate without success. Police say the video ultimately corroborated an account from a resident who had reported witnessing the incident firsthand. As NBC Los Angeles reports, the victim was a 9-month-old black-and-white pit bull mix, and neighbors had noticed a minivan — described as an older blue or green Honda Odyssey with a roof rack — parked near the scene beforehand.
How the Encounter Unfolded on West Park Lane
Per NBC Los Angeles, the minivan came to a stop around 9:15 a.m. on September 8, and the driver placed the puppy underneath the vehicle before setting dog food near the driver's side door. Santa Ana police said the driver then slowly inched the minivan forward as the puppy approached the food, running over the animal with the rear driver's-side tire. The vehicle reportedly remained stopped on top of the puppy for approximately 15 seconds before the driver left, heading northbound on Lowell Street.
Animal Services officers had originally been dispatched to the 900 block of West Park Lane following a resident's call, per the Los Angeles Times account. The footage that police eventually released did not clearly capture the vehicle's license plate or the driver's face, according to NBC Los Angeles, which is part of why the case stalled for weeks before investigators turned to the public for help. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Santa Ana Police Department at (714) 245-8378.
What Charges the Driver Could Face
Under California Penal Code Section 597(a), intentionally and maliciously killing an animal is a wobbler offense that prosecutors can file as a felony, carrying up to three years in state prison or county jail and a fine of up to $20,000, the Los Angeles Times reports. The statute gives Orange County prosecutors discretion to charge the act as a misdemeanor or felony depending on the apparent premeditation and severity of the conduct. Any defendant who is later convicted and granted probation under Section 597 must also complete and pay for court-ordered psychological or anger management counseling, according to the Shouse Law Group, which also notes that courts may impose long-term or lifetime bans on animal ownership.
It is important to note that the driver has not been identified or arrested, so these potential charges reflect what investigators and legal experts say could apply once a suspect is found — not a formal accusation against any named individual. The Los Angeles Times points to a similar Southern California case from 2024, in which a San Diego County man was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of felony animal cruelty for deliberately running over a 17-year-old Bichon Frise mix named Benny during a road rage incident.
A Pattern of Vehicular Cruelty Cases in Santa Ana
This is not the first time Santa Ana police have investigated a driver accused of deliberately running over an animal. In August 2024, officers investigated a case on Dahl Lane in which a driver exited an SUV, dumped a two-month-old Rottweiler puppy, and intentionally ran it over before fleeing — that puppy survived after emergency surgery for a broken rib cage, according to a Santa Ana Police Department Facebook post. And in July 2024, detectives requested felony animal cruelty charges in the severe abuse case of a Chow Chow named Romeo, also under Penal Code 597(a).
Santa Ana has also seen heightened public attention around animal cruelty cases in recent years. Hoodline previously reported that Santa Ana resident Alejandro Acosta was charged with felony animal cruelty in May 2025 in connection with a cat abduction and killing spree, an investigation that sparked neighborhood protests and demonstrations near the suspect's residence calling for harsher penalties for animal abuse.
The City of Santa Ana operates a dedicated Animal Services division within the police department to investigate cruelty complaints and enforce municipal animal codes, and residents can also reach that division directly at 714-245-8792 for non-emergency concerns. For now, the driver in the West Park Lane case remains unidentified, and police are relying on the newly released video and the public's help to move the investigation forward.
