CHP video shows crash of SUV into Lemoore warplane

A video taken from a California Highway Patrol helicopter captured a fatal crash that took place when the driver of a Jeep Cherokee attempting to elude police crashed into an FA-18E on the tarmac at Naval Air Station Lemoore, killing two people.

The pursuit took place in March 2016, but the video of the chase was only recently released by the CHP after that agency and the Navy both signed off on the disclosure, according to the CHP. The incident prompted concerns about security for the high-tech jets following the incident.

A spokesman for the base said that the video “does not fully capture the intensity of our security force’s response” or show all of the “coordination and communication on the ground between the CHP patrol units and our security forces.”

Anthony Raymond Castillo, 29, and Melissa Marie Miller, 36, of San Jose were killed in the crash that took place on March 31, 2016. The CHP said Castillo was trying to elude officers when he drove the wrong way on Highway 198, entered the base operations area and crashed into the warplane.

A Kings County Coroner’s investigation later determined that the two were high on methamphetamine during the incident. Castillo had 4,600 nanograms per liter of the drug in his system, according to the coroner. Any level higher than 1,500 nanograms per liter is likely to cause death, according to the coroner. Miller had a much lower level in her system.

NAS Lemoore is the largest installation in the country for the carrier-based aircraft. The Navy spokesman, Marcelo H. Calero, said the crash caused the separation of the horizontal stabilizer on the warplane.

Calero said security forces engage in multiple base protection exercises “throughout the year,” but the Navy does not comment on specific protection measures.

This story was originally published October 22, 2018 at 9:53 AM.