MISSION VIEJO – The driver of a Porsche is in critical condition and his passenger is in good condition after surgery at Mission Hospital following a rollover crash Monday that left them trapped inside the car that flipped onto its roof, police said.

Raymond Carter, 29, the driver, and his passenger, Brandon Whitaker, 32, of Lake Forest, were driving westbound along El Toro Road under the 241 Toll Road at a high rate of speed about 11:35 a.m. when the car struck a curb, vaulted into the air, sheared off a light pole and landed on its roof, sheriff’s Lt. Ted Boyne said.

Carter and Whitaker were rescued after Orange County Fire Authority firefighters cut through the wreckage.

The westbound lanes of El Toro were closed until 5 p.m.

Sheriff’s investigators are continuing to look at the cause of the crash. Sheriff’s Lt. Doug Doyle said the Porsche was registered to someone related to Whitaker.

According to Lt. Lloyd Downing, Whitaker was released from the Theo Lacey Jail Facility at 1:50 a.m., just 10 hours before the crash.

Whitaker posted an $80,000 bond. He had been serving time at the jail for a Dec. 9 arrest by Fountain Valley police that ended when the department’s police dog cornered him in an alley near a warehouse.

At that time, Whitaker was suspected of stealing at least seven motorcycles. He was booked into Orange County Jail after being arrested on receiving stolen property and stolen vehicles, Downing said. He was also arrested for being found in possession of drugs and for resisting arrest, Downing said.

Whitaker was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years of probation in 1998 after pleading guilty to a charge of possessing/manufacturing/selling a deadly weapon.

He also was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty in 1998 to receiving stolen property. In 2000, he was sentenced to 16 months in state prison after violating parole on the stolen-property charge.

Contact the writer: eritchie@ocregister.com or 949-454-7307