California man sets bush on fire, flees from police and crashes — killing woman, authorities say
A Huntington Beach man involved in a domestic dispute set a bush on fire next to a home Monday night, Dec. 2, then led Fountain Valley police on a short, high-speed pursuit that ended in a crash that killed a woman and injured two other people, authorities said.
Police originally sought Timothy Bradford Cole, 43, after he was accused of dousing a bush next to a home with lighter fluid and lighting it on fire in the 18000 block of Arches Court about 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, Fountain Valley police Sgt. Heather Williams said.
The fire spread to the house, with residents dousing the flames before officers arrived, Williams said. The suspect fled; his Dodge Ram pickup truck was later found in a parking lot in the 17900 block of Brookhurst Street.
Officer surveilled the truck until about 10 p.m., when they spotted Cole getting inside and driving toward Brookhurst, Williams said. Cole saw the officers’ vehicles and began speeding southbound on Brookhurst with the officers in pursuit, authorities said.
Cole turned left onto Ellis Avenue and ran a red light at Magnolia Street, hitting a BMW SUV traveling southbound through the intersection, Williams said. Police said the pursuit lasted less than a minute and spanned less than a mile.
Cole was arrested and officers attempted to help the three people inside the BMW until paramedics arrived.
The force of the collision overturned Cole’s pickup truck, which came to rest on the passenger side.
A passenger in the BMW, a 25-year-old Huntington Beach woman, died while en route to a hospital, Williams said. Her identity was withheld by police pending notification of her relatives.
The driver and another passenger were hospitalized, one of them in critical condition.
Cole was hospitalized in serious condition with non-life threatening injuries, the sergeant said.
“Specific charges against Cole are pending,” police said in a statement.
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