Two men from outside the Bay Area were identified as a driver and passenger killed early Tuesday, March 31, in a crash outside Travis Air Force Base following a chase that began minutes earlier in Napa County.
The driver was identified as Sacramento resident John Newton, 28, according to the Solano County Sheriff’s Office. The passenger was identified as Tavion Knox, 30, of Oroville.
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office’s Major Crimes Task force is investigating the crash after an “Officer-Involved Fatal Incident protocol” was declared. Investigators there did not respond to a request for additional comment on the investigation and it was not yet clear why the driver fled authorities or exactly how the crash occurred.
According to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, a sheriff’s deputy tried to do a traffic stop on Newton on Highway 12, near the city of Napa, just after 12 a.m. Tuesday.
Officials say Newton drove off and led authorities on a chase that ended 12:17 a.m. about 20 miles from where the pursuit began.
He crashed in the air force base’s visitor center parking lot, and the vehicle burst into flames. Attempts to extinguish flames were unsuccessful and both occupants were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
The crash did not affect base operations or cause any significant property damage, Travis officials said in a statement to The Press Democrat. The main gate and visitor center were briefly closed but reopened by Tuesday afternoon.
You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com.