Orange County domestic dispute ends in deadly police chase
A 25-year-old woman is dead and two other people are in the hospital after a man fleeing Fountain Valley police in a truck slammed into their vehicle Monday evening, authorities said.
Police arrested Huntington Beach resident Timothy Bradford Cole, 43, after his Dodge Ram smashed into a white BMW at the intersection of Ellis Avenue and Magnolia Street shortly after 10 p.m., according to Fountain Valley Police.
Cole was speeding and ran a red light when he collided with the BMW, which was traveling southbound, police alleged.
Three people inside the BMW were rushed to a trauma center, but one of them, a 25-year-old woman, died en route. Her name was not being released pending notification of next of kin. One of the other two injured people was listed in critical condition, and the other was said to be stable.
Fountain Valley Sgt. Henry Hsu said these two passengers were also in their 20s.
Cole was taken to a Long Beach trauma center and is listed in serious condition. He will be booked once he’s released from the hospital, Hsu said.
The Fountain Valley police department plans to roll out an incentive program to help address a shortage of police officers and dispatchers.
Cole was wanted in connection with a domestic dispute and recent arson, according to police.
Police alleged that Cole set a bush on fire next to a home in Fountain Valley’s Arches Court neighborhood after dousing it with lighter fluid. The fire spread to the home but was put out by residents by the time police arrived.
Cole was not at the scene of the fire, but police said they spotted his truck about a mile away in a commercial center parking lot off Brookhurst Street and began surveillance.
Fountain Valley residents turned out in droves to express their desire to keep two buildings near City Hall as community-serving properties rather than allow redevelopment of the property.
At around 10 p.m., police say, they watched Cole get into the truck and begin to drive.
Hsu said that while he didn’t know details about the specific surveillance effort, he said Fountain Valley police tactics often include watching from a distance.
“We’re usually not sitting right next to the car,” Hsu said. “We’re using binoculars on a target vehicle.”
Cole fled as soon as he saw the vehicles closing in, authorities alleged. Less than a minute later, Cole’s truck was involved in the deadly crash.
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