High-Speed CHP Chase Ends With Crash Into Parked Jet Fighter
LEMOORE (CBS SF) -- A San Jose couple was killed in a car crash at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Kings County following a pursuit by California Highway Patrol officers.
They were identified as Anthony Castillo, 29, and Melissa Miller, 36, according to the Kings County Sheriff's Office.
Castillo was driving a 1997 purple Jeep Grand Cherokee seen by CHP officers on the shoulder of Jackson Avenue west of state Highway 41 at about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday, CHP Officer John Tyler said.
The officers in a patrol car pulled up behind the Jeep to check on whoever was inside, but Castillo erratically drove away.
The officers tried to pull over the Jeep as it weaved and crossed the road's center line, according to Tyler.
Castillo continued west on Jackson Avenue, ran past a stop sign at Avenal Cutoff Road and went onto eastbound state Highway 198.
The officers saw the suspect vehicle briefly travel the wrong way on the freeway, then cross the center divide, according to Tyler.
They lost sight of the Jeep, but soon after saw it east of Enterprise Avenue and continued their pursuit.
Castillo drove to Reeves Bypass before he entered the operations side of the air station, where officers lost track of the Jeep.
A CHP helicopter crew monitored the suspect vehicle and relayed its location to officers on the ground, Tyler said.
The Jeep then crashed into the back of a parked F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft.
Miller, a passenger in the Jeep, was pronounced dead at the scene and Castillo was transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, where he succumbed to his injuries, Tyler said.
Investigators have not determined if drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, according to Tyler.
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