Fleeing driver dies crashing into barrier trying to get through NAS Jacksonville gate

Scott Butler and Dan Scanlan
·4 min read
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Officials work the scene of a crash that left the driver dead Thursday morning after trying to get past Naval Air Station Jacksonville's Birmingham Gate and slamming into the activated security barrier. The Florida Highway Patrol said the man was fleeing a hit-and-run.
Officials work the scene of a crash that left the driver dead Thursday morning after trying to get past Naval Air Station Jacksonville's Birmingham Gate and slamming into the activated security barrier. The Florida Highway Patrol said the man was fleeing a hit-and-run.

A man fleeing a hit-and-run crash tried to get through one of Naval Air Station Jacksonville's gates and was killed when security triggered a protective barrier that the driver slammed into, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

It happened about 6:30 a.m. Thursday at the Birmingham Gate along Roosevelt Boulevard. The unidentified driver has no known military affiliation, according to base officials.

It is unknown why he tried to enter the base, but "We do not believe in any way, shape or form that this was an intentional act as far as any type of domestic terrorism or access to the facility," Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Dylan Bryan said.

The man was in a rental car when the initial hit-and-run happened about 6 a.m. at Roosevelt and Timuquana Road. Bryan said it was "very minor in nature," but the driver fled south almost 3 miles on Roosevelt, then made a left turn headed toward the base's secondary gate.

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That gate is normally used by Navy personnel and is equipped with a security gantry checkpoint as well as massive pop-up barriers to stop unauthorized access, which is what Bryan said this driver was doing.

"He sideswiped a vehicle as he was approaching the gantry, then proceeded through the gantry without stopping," Bryan said. "Military personnel on scene deployed the security measures and subsequently stopped that vehicle."

Going about 40 mph on impact and not wearing a seat belt, the driver died on scene, the master sergant said.

Anyone who witnessed this driver or has information is asked to contact the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at (808) 478-8353.

The Birmingham Gate, which is south of the Main Gate on Yorktown Avenue, is open 5 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to the Navy. The Main Gate located on Yorktown Ave is open 24 hours.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's office blocks the scene of a crash that killed a man Thursday trying to get through a barrier at Naval Air Station Jacksonville's Birmingham Gate.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's office blocks the scene of a crash that killed a man Thursday trying to get through a barrier at Naval Air Station Jacksonville's Birmingham Gate.

It's happened before

In August at Jacksonville's other Navy base, Naval Station Mayport, a 40-year-old Georgia man ignored guards stationed there and crashed his Subaru into another activated barrier about 6 p.m., according to news partner First Coast News.

Jason Tavares of Marietta was slurring his words and didn't know what day of the week it was, his arrest report said. A beer also was open in the front seat of his vehicle. He said he was coming from a bar, got lost and mistakenly drove past the main gate.

He was uninjured but was charged with DUI, careless driving, and possession of an open container in the vehicle.

In 2019 an unidentified driver tried to ram his way through Mayport's gate and crashed into a pop-up steel security barrier. The man later died of his injuries later, police said.

Then less than two weeks later Rodney Simeon, a 24-year-old former Alabama State University basketball player from Miami, was arrested after trying to smash through the same gate with a stolen dump truck, authorities said. He had been involved in several crashes on Interstate 95 in St. Johns and Duval counties as he fled Palm Coast where the dump truck was heisted.

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He was under arrest on a Flagler County warrant for auto theft and burglary and also charged with careless driving, knowingly operating a vehicle with a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident, according to court records.

Although no possible motive was provided at the time, a ski mask and a gun were found inside the stolen truck. He had also been arrested a few days earlier on charges of destruction of evidence, suspended license, possession of marijuana and no car registration in Orange County, according to court records.

In 2011 a barrier at the NAS Jacksonville Main Gate also stopped a pickup as the driver tried to get past guards and smashed into it. When he tried to run and steal a car, he was seized before he got any farther. No weapons were found in his truck.

Timothy Migliore, then 45 of Green Cove Springs, was charged with attempted carjacking, resisting an officer without violence, trespassing, criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance, according to jail records.

He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, court records show.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Driver killed attempting to get into Naval Air Station Jacksonville