A Florida driver died Thursday morning after attempting to crash through the Birmingham Gate at Naval Air Station Jacksonville following a hit-and-run incident.
The driver fled the scene of a nearby car crash around 6 a.m. and drove nearly 3 miles before he turned into the southernmost entrance to NAS Jacksonville off U.S. 17. Gate sentries deployed a protective barrier that stopped the driver’s car from entering the base.
Traffic was backed up for miles along U.S. 17 Thursday morning following the incident.
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Florida Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Dylan Bryan told WJXT that investigators believe the driver did not have the intent to harm anyone on base and was simply unaware of where he was as he tried to flee the accident scene.
When the driver tried to run the NAS Jacksonville gate, he hit another car, but that driver was uninjured. Bryan said the person hit in the initial hit-and-run was also not injured.
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NAS Jacksonville said the Birmingham Gate will remain closed until further notice. The base can be accessed via the Yorktown and Allegheny gates.
