CHINA LAKE, Calif. — A driver who sped onto a Southern California Navy air base without authorization died Wednesday when the car smashed into a metal barrier at high speed, authorities said.
At about 7:30 a.m., the car sped past the wide main entry gate at the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, a remote expanse of the Mojave Desert, said Margo Allen, the base’s public affairs officer.
A “final denial” barrier several hundred feet away from the main gate was raised and the car struck it, Allen said.
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The driver died at the scene. The motorist’s identity wasn’t immediately released and there was no immediate word on a motive for the intrusion.
Operations at the sprawling base weren’t affected, Allen said.
China Lake is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.
