A known white supremacist gang member in Orange County has been charged with murder in connection with a high-speed police pursuit crash that killed a Vietnamese tourist and seriously injured two others, officials announced Thursday.
The Dec. 2 incident unfolded at around 7:30 p.m. when officers with the Fountain Valley Police Department responded to reports of arson at a home on the 18000 block of Arches Court.
The suspect, 43-year-old Huntington Beach resident Timothy Cole, reportedly used an accelerant to set a bush on fire outside the home of his sister’s fiancé, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
“The fire engulfed the bush in flames and spread to the structure of the home,” the Police Department stated.
Cole’s motive for igniting the fire, prosecutors said, was retaliation for custody of his children after his sister called child protective services.
Residents at the home, with the help of a neighbor, were able to extinguish the blaze which spread to the porch.
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Timothy Cole seen in police custody after high-speed pursuit crash left an innocent woman dead in Fountain Valley on Dec. 2, 2024. (TNLA)
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A vehicle seen after it was struck by a driver evading police in Fountain Valley on Dec. 2, 2024. (TNLA)
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A pursuit ended in a rollover crash in Fountain Valley on Dec. 2, 2024. (TNLA)
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A pursuit ended in deadly crash in Fountain Valley on Dec. 2, 2024. (TNLA)
The 43-year-old was spotted two hours later getting into his white Dodge Ram pickup truck, parked near the home. When police attempted a traffic stop, Cole failed to yield and led officers on a 1.5-mile pursuit.
Just before 11 p.m., Cole ran a red light at the intersection of Ellis Avenue and Magnolia Street at nearly 90 miles per hour and struck a BMW X3, which caused his vehicle to roll over.
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“Twenty-five-year-old Hong Ngoc Nguyen, who was visiting from Vietnam, was riding in the backseat and was killed,” the release stated. “The driver of the BMW suffered fractures to her spine and pelvis and her passenger suffered a broken arm.”
Cole was taken into custody without incident and transported to a trauma center in Long Beach.
The 43-year-old, who has six prior strikes, has been charged with:
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A felony count of evading a peace officer causing death
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Two felony counts of evading a peace officer causing serious injury
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Felony enhancement of arson using an accelerant
“No one could have predicted that a series of events set in motion by a complete stranger would turn Miss Nguyen’s American vacation into an American nightmare,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Words do not exist to express the utter heartbreak over the death of a young woman who found herself in the path of someone with complete disregard for human life.”
If convicted as charged, Cole faces a maximum sentence of 70 years to life in state prison. He is scheduled to appear in an Orange County courtroom on Dec. 20.
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