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2 dead after pursued Jeep crashes into California air base, hits fighter jet 
Two are dead after a Jeep Cherokee pursued by law enforcement crashed through a gate at Lemoore Naval Air Station and slammed into an FA-18E fighter jet Wednesday night.
According to authorities at the base, the male driver of the SUV and female passenger were killed.
At a news conference Thursday morning, base authorities said the Jeep crashed through an “entry control point.” The two were not affiliated with the base, authorities said.
The pursuit began in Kings County when the California Highway Patrol investigated a vehicle stopped alongside the road on Highway 41 and Jackson Avenue. The vehicle sped away and began to weave, CHP Lt. Dave Knoff said.
“We don’t know why they were running,” Knoff said.
The pursuit was called off temporarily when the driver began going against traffic on Highway 198, authorities said, but was picked up later on the same highway.
About 11:30 p.m., the Jeep went through the gate and onto the base. Naval security forces pick up the pursuit while a CHP helicopter tracked the vehicle.
The driver collided with the horizontal stabilizer of an FA-18E fighter jet, authorities said.The driver was taken to a hospital, where he died. The passenger died at the scene.
In a news briefing early Thursday, Capt. Monty G. Ashliman Jr., commander of the Lemoore base, said just how the vehicle was able to get onto the airfield is a key part of the follow-up investigation that will be done.
A spokeswoman for Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, said the congressman is still collecting information about the incident. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, was unavailable for comment. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, was awaiting a briefing on the incident.
Lemoore is the largest naval installation in the country for carrier-based aircraft, and soon will be getting larger. Currently, 15 active F-18 fighter jet squadrons and one auxiliary squadron are stationed there. One more is on its way in August, and another will move to Lemoore in 2018. A year from now the station also will get some of the first crews to fly the F-35, America’s newest fighter jet. In all, more than 3,000 people – naval aviators and their family members – will be added to the base before 2019.
About 60 percent of the nation’s naval fighter jets will be based at Lemoore Naval Air Station. The Pacific Strike Fighter Wing, as it’s called, is growing due to the Department of Defense’s plans to divert 60 percent of all spending to the Pacific theater.
Two are dead after a Jeep Cherokee pursued by law enforcement crashed through a gate at Lemoore Naval Air Station and slammed into an FA-18E fighter jet Wednesday night.
According to authorities at the base, the male driver of the SUV and female passenger were killed.
At a news conference Thursday morning, base authorities said the Jeep crashed through an “entry control point.” The two were not affiliated with the base, authorities said.
The pursuit began in Kings County when the California Highway Patrol investigated a vehicle stopped alongside the road on Highway 41 and Jackson Avenue. The vehicle sped away and began to weave, CHP Lt. Dave Knoff said.
“We don’t know why they were running,” Knoff said.
The pursuit was called off temporarily when the driver began going against traffic on Highway 198, authorities said, but was picked up later on the same highway.
About 11:30 p.m., the Jeep went through the gate and onto the base. Naval security forces pick up the pursuit while a CHP helicopter tracked the vehicle.
The driver collided with the horizontal stabilizer of an FA-18E fighter jet, authorities said.The driver was taken to a hospital, where he died. The passenger died at the scene.
In a news briefing early Thursday, Capt. Monty G. Ashliman Jr., commander of the Lemoore base, said just how the vehicle was able to get onto the airfield is a key part of the follow-up investigation that will be done.
A spokeswoman for Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, said the congressman is still collecting information about the incident. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, was unavailable for comment. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, was awaiting a briefing on the incident.
Lemoore is the largest naval installation in the country for carrier-based aircraft, and soon will be getting larger. Currently, 15 active F-18 fighter jet squadrons and one auxiliary squadron are stationed there. One more is on its way in August, and another will move to Lemoore in 2018. A year from now the station also will get some of the first crews to fly the F-35, America’s newest fighter jet. In all, more than 3,000 people – naval aviators and their family members – will be added to the base before 2019.
About 60 percent of the nation’s naval fighter jets will be based at Lemoore Naval Air Station. The Pacific Strike Fighter Wing, as it’s called, is growing due to the Department of Defense’s plans to divert 60 percent of all spending to the Pacific theater.
