Westminster Woman Killed in Collision

A 24-year-old woman was killed after her friend apparently ran a red light and their car was broadsided in Westminster late Sunday, police and witnesses said.

My Hanh Thi Nguyen, 24, of Westminster died after her friend Thien Minh Le, 28, also of Westminster, reportedly ran the light at Hazard Avenue and Beach Boulevard at 9:24 p.m., police said. A Jeep Cherokee driven by a 17-year-old from Fullerton smashed into the passenger side of the Honda Accord, sending it 100 feet from the intersection, police said.

Nguyen died at the scene. Le, who suffered minor injuries, was transported to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was treated and released.

Police were continuing to investigate Monday and had not filed any charges.

Westminster traffic investigator Gary Hooper said Le told police that he had a green light, but evidence from the scene and witness accounts indicated otherwise. Le was probably traveling 35 to 40 mph, while the Jeep was going 20 to 35 mph, he said.

If the Jeep’s driver had been running a red light, Hooper said, “she probably would have been going a lot faster.”

Carol Butterfield, a Huntington Beach resident who was stopped at the intersection at the time, said Monday she had no doubt that Le had a red light. After the accident, she ran to the car to offer assistance. Nguyen was slumped in the passenger seat, and Le was holding her head in his hands.

“It was upsetting,” Butterfield said. “I just thought, ‘My God! Why didn’t he stop?’ ”

Nguyen, she said, “never knew what happened.”