Two people involved in a police pursuit Thursday are dead after their car collided with a parked FA-18E Super Hornet at NAS Lemoore west of Fresno, U.S. military officials said.
The pursuit by the California Highway Patrol was temporarily called off when the driver drove in the opposite direction on Highway-198. Navy security forces responded when the car smashed through a gate at the Naval air station, according to a NAS spokesperson. A CHP helicopter monitored the situation from above with help from the air traffic control tower.
The pursuit ended when the driver collided with the horizontal stabilizer of an FA-18E. The driver was taken to a hospital where he ultimately died as a result of his injuries. The passenger was declared dead at the scene.
The incident is under investigation.
A U.S. Navy personnel posted a video of the incident on Facebook, which showed the Hornet and emergency vehicles at NAS Lemoore. "For those of you who haven't heard, driver reportedly going the wrong direction down 198 crashed onto Naval Air Station," the post, which was later deleted, said.
The NAS Lemoore was built in 1961 and has two runways and hosts four Carrier Air Wings.
