Suspect arrested after fatal crash in Fountain Valley police chase, victim ID’d

A high-speed police chase of an arson suspect ended in a fiery, violent rollover crash in Fountain Valley that left a woman dead and the suspect and two other people hospitalized, authorities said Tuesday.

The collision occurred around 10 p.m. Monday near Ellis Avenue and Magnolia Street, according to the Fountain Valley Police Department.

According to police, the events leading to the pursuit began about 7:30 p.m. Monday, when officers went to a residence in the 18000 block of Arches Court “in reference to an arson that just occurred.”

Fountain Valley police were called to the 18000 block of Arches Court Monday night by a report of a man who’d set a bush on fire during a domestic dispute that ended in a fatal collision after a police pursuit.

(Sara Cardine)

“Investigation revealed because of an ongoing domestic dispute, a known suspect doused a bush adjacent to the home with lighter fluid and lit it on fire,” a police statement said. “The fire engulfed the bush in flames and spread to the structure of the home.”

The fire was extinguished by residents before officers arrived, police said.

“Using investigative resources, officers located the suspect’s unoccupied vehicle, a white Dodge Ram truck, in a parking lot in the 17900 block of Brookhurst [Street] in Fountain Valley,” the police statement said.

“Officers conducted surveillance of the Dodge, and at approximately 10 p.m., the suspect was seen entering the Dodge and drove toward Brookhurst Street,” the statement continued.

“Upon seeing marked police cars closing in, the suspect fled southbound Brookhurst at a high rate of speed, and officers initiated a pursuit. The pursuit terminated on Ellis and Magnolia when the Dodge collided with a white BMW X3 in the intersection.”

Officers arrested 43-year-old Timothy Bradford Cole of Huntington Beach, police said. It was unclear what charges he might face.

“Officers ... rendered medical aid to three occupants in the BMW while awaiting paramedics,” the statement said. “The pursuit traveled less than a mile in the span of less than a minute.

“Preliminary investigation showed during the pursuit, the suspect drove at a high rate of speed against a red traffic light westbound [on] Ellis through Magnolia and collided with the BMW traveling [southbound] on Magnolia,” the statement said.

“The three occupants of the BMW were transported to a local trauma center, and the suspect was transported to a trauma center in Long Beach,” the statement said.

A 25-year-old female passenger from Huntington Beach in the BMW was pronounced dead on the way to the trauma center, according to the police.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Matthew Parrish confirmed Tuesday the woman was identified by coroner’s officials as Hong Ngoc Nguyen, a resident of Vietnam who was visiting the U.S. at the time of the incident.

The other two victims were listed in critical and stable condition Tuesday, while Cole was listed in serious condition with non-life-threatening injuries, the release indicated.

Any witnesses or persons with information about the collision are encouraged to call the Fountain Valley Police Department at (714) 593-4485.

Staff writer Sara Cardine contributed to this story.