Orange County pursuit suspect charged with murder after allegedly crashing into Vietnamese tourist
A pursuit suspect from Orange County will now face a possible life sentence after he allegedly killed an innocent tourist during the high-speed chase on Monday.
The OC District Attorney's Office charged Timothy Bradford Cole II, 43, with one count of murder, one count of evading a peace officer causing death, two felony counts of evading a peace officer causing serious injury, one felony count of arson of an inhabited structure and one felony enhancement of arson with use of an acceleration device.
Described by the District Attorney's Office as a "documented white supremacist gang member with six prior strikes," Cole faces a maximum of 70 years to life plus 48 years and eight months in state prison if convicted as charged.
Authorities identified the woman Cole allegedly killed as Vietnamese tourist Hong Ngoc Nguyen, 25. She was visiting childhood friends when she died, according to the Fountain Valley Police Department.
"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," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
Cole started running from police after he allegedly set a bush outside of his sister's fiance's home on fire. The fire spread to the porch, slightly charring it before a neighbor and someone else put it out .
Fountain Valley police spotted Cole as he returned to his car near the alleged arson. Officers tried to pull him over but Cole refused and sped off at nearly 90 mph. During the 1.4-mile pursuit, Cole allegedly ran a red light at Ellis Avenue and Magnolia Street before slamming into Nguyen's BMW X3. She was riding in the backseat and died. Her friend, the driver, suffered a fractured spine and pelvis. Another passenger suffered a broken arm.
"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 and we will do everything we can to get justice for Miss Nguyen and her loved ones," Spitzer said.
Court records show that Cole has a criminal history dating back to 2003. This year he pleaded guilty to a handful of misdemeanors and one felony possession of a controlled substance.
He pleaded guilty to a case from 2005 for assault with a deadly weapon with an enhancement of inflicting great bodily injury and criminal threats in 2007. The same year he again pleaded to two counts of dissuading witness by force and solicitation to commit a crime, all three of which had an enhancement for criminal street gang activity.
Again in 2007, Cole pleaded guilty to another count of solicitation to commit a crime, a count of conspiring to commit a crime and two counts of participating in a criminal street gang activity. He also admitted to two enhancements of criminal street gang activity.
In 2023, he violated his parole and was sentenced to 135 days in jail. After he got out, prosecutors charged him with a misdemeanor that was eventually dismissed on Sept. 5, 2024.
