OC teen almost misses graduation due to highway standoff – NBC Los Angeles

An Orange County teenager almost missed her high school graduation ceremony in Anaheim for the most southern California reasons.

Traffic, and not just the usual morning traffic jams. Arleth Ureno and members of his family, some from as far away as Mexico, found themselves stuck behind a highway gridlock that blocked traffic in the Anaheim Hills area for hours.

Anticipation was high earlier in the morning of May 24 as they prepared to leave for the ceremony at Katella High School. They left 90 minutes before departure, giving them what they thought was plenty of time.

Unfortunately, their route to the 10 a.m. ceremony at Handel Stadium included Highway 91, a section of which was closed for hours due to a SWAT standoff with a gunman after a pursuit. Arleth suspected something was wrong when police cars, officers on motorcycles, and armored SWAT vehicles began to pass their car.

“When it started and I didn’t know what was going on, I was really stressed,” Arleth said. “I started crying. My mother was like, 'Don't cry, don't cry, don't ruin your makeup.'”

Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions on the highway as law enforcement attempted to safely end the standoff. Two armored SWAT vehicles sandwiched a blue sedan with the driver inside in the middle lanes.

Drivers and passengers were getting out of their cars, which were stopped behind a dozen law enforcement vehicles. The video showed a person riding a skateboard in the HOV lane.

The traffic jams included a heartwarming moment when other drivers learned of Artleth's dilemma. They honked their horns in celebration as she donned her cap on the highway in a video her mother posted to Instagram.

“Everyone sees me and I had my graduate cap on,” Arleth said. “They just started honking and congratulating me, and it made me feel special. It really touched my heart. Even though I didn't have a celebration like I would have liked, I I had a very special one.”

Eventually, Arleth and her father crossed the closed highway and returned to the next exit to meet her uncle in another vehicle, still about 30 minutes from the ceremony location. She was late, but Arleth arrived at the stadium and was still part of the ceremony.

Other family members, including his mother and grandmother, who came from Mexico, never arrived because of traffic jams. They watched the ceremony live from the car.

The standoff ended around noon when authorities removed the deceased driver from the car.