In Fountain Valley on Monday night, a chase ended in a gory rollover disaster that left one person dead and three others in the hospital.
A 25-year-old female passenger named Hong Ngoc Nguyen was killed when the suspect driver, who was being chased by police for the arson, collided with another vehicle, ending what had started as alleged arson earlier in the evening. According to the authorities, she was a Vietnamese exchange student.
Two people inside the struck automobile are critically ill and in stable condition. According to the Fountain Valley Police Department, the suspect driver, Timothy Bradford Cole, 43, of Huntington Beach, was hospitalized in critical condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
After being discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, Cole was detained into Orange County Jail, according to the police.
“At this time, the felony charges against Cole include murder, eluding a peace officer causing death to a person, and arson,” according to a release from FVPD.
Since then, the hospital has released the other two victims.
A house fire on Arches Court around 7:30 p.m. on Monday night started the chain of events that resulted in the pursuit crash.
Residents reported a fire that they were able to extinguish on their own, prompting police to arrive at the residence. Police said that a known suspect set a bush on fire close to the house, which caused flames to spread to the house as a result of an ongoing domestic conflict.
The suspect’s empty Dodge Ram pickup was found by authorities in a Brookhurst Street parking lot a short distance away.
Around ten o’clock at night, the suspect got into the truck, and the officers watching it began a quick but intense chase.
At the intersection of Ellis Avenue and Magnolia Street, the suspect motorist ran a red light and collided with a white BMW X3 less than a mile under one minute.
Along with the suspect, three passengers in the BMW were sent to a hospital.
On Monday, SkyCal flew over the scene of the crash, where a badly damaged BMW was seen parked on a curb. The overturned pickup truck that the guy was reportedly driving was hundreds of feet away.
According to FVPD, specific charges against Cole are still pending.
