Two people were arrested after a vehicle Phoenix police were tracking in connection with an unlawful street-racing group crashed through a locked security gate at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona, struck a detective's car, a wall and an unoccupied small plane, and entered an active runway area, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Source: Phoenix Police Department via FOX 10 Phoenix
Police identified the two people in the vehicle as Liberty Dawn Still, 33, and Michael Gregory Wall, 24. The incident happened at about 11 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, near 15000 North Airport Drive in Scottsdale. Both were taken into custody and booked into the Maricopa County jail system on multiple felony allegations, according to police reporting by FOX 10 Phoenix and Arizona's Family. The allegations are criminal accusations, and both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
When: about 11 p.m., Saturday, October 17. Where: Scottsdale Airport, Arizona. What police allege: a tracked street-racing vehicle rammed a locked gate, entered an active runway, and hit a wall, a hangar and an unoccupied plane. Airport operations were not affected, police said. The FBI is investigating the trespass.
How police say the chase reached the runway
Phoenix police said officers first tried to stop the vehicle in Phoenix after observing it obstructing traffic in connection with a street-racing group. When the driver allegedly refused to pull over, the department's air support unit tracked the car as it crossed into Scottsdale, and detectives attached a GPS tracking device to its rear bumper at the airport gate, according to court documents released on Monday and reported by AVweb, citing Arizona's Family.
Source: AVweb — court documents / Arizona's Family
At the gate, police say, the driver reversed into a detective's vehicle, then accelerated forward through the locked barrier, drove onto the active runway, hit a wall and then collided with the unoccupied small plane before coming to a stop inside a private hangar. Air traffic control audio captured warnings to pilots about a police chase on the airfield, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.
"It can be potentially catastrophic," Phoenix police Sgt. Chris Berrelleza told FOX 10, referring to the danger of a vehicle entering an active runway while other aircraft were taking off and landing.
Arrests, charges and the FBI investigation
Police said Still and Wall left the vehicle and ran toward the tarmac. Officers arrested Still and used a Taser on Wall after he allegedly resisted arrest. According to court documents reported by AVweb, the two face a combined eight charges; Still faces five charges including unlawful flight from law enforcement, while Wall faces allegations including assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. Additional charges remain possible, and police have not released a full damage estimate.
The Scottsdale Police Department assisted by securing the airport and documenting damage to the gate, hangar and aircraft. Phoenix police said airport operations were not affected. The FBI responded and is investigating the alleged trespass into what Phoenix police described as critical airport infrastructure, according to reporting by the Focal News Phoenix bureau and Dispatch Times.
Source: Focal News — Phoenix Police Department
AVweb noted the Scottsdale breach follows a similar incident in August, when a driver fleeing police crashed through a perimeter fence and struck a parked aircraft at Portsmouth International Airport in New Hampshire — a comparison that has put airport perimeter security back in focus. The investigation in Scottsdale remains ongoing.