Probe continues into high-speed driver on taxiway at John Wayne Airport

An investigation continued Wednesday, Dec. 10, into the actions of a John Wayne Airport contract security guard who was caught on video driving a white sedan on the airport’s taxiway, speeding past a series of aircraft.

No injuries were reported from the incident, which occurred around 1:15 p.m. Monday at the Orange County airport.

Cell phone video taken by an airport employee on the taxiway and shared by ABC7 shows the white Toyota Camry whizzing down the taxiway with several aircraft moving slowly nearby.

 

Airport officials said in a statement that the driver was a contract security guard who was “experiencing a possible medical emergency.” The suspect was taken into custody by responding sheriff’s deputies who took the person to a hospital for evaluation. It was unclear if the person was arrested.

As of Wednesday evening, the employee was still under medical observation, according to a statement shared by John Wayne Airport officials. The statement also said that the employee was placed on suspension pending a final review of the incident.

Rijken Vanderweide, who recorded the video, told reporters the situation could have ended much worse.

“Me and all my co-workers were just like yelling, giving him the X, holding the (traffic) wands, telling him to stop the plane, and then he zoomed right past,” he told ABC7. “Honestly, if we didn’t tell that plane to stop, he came really close, and if no one noticed or stopped … he probably would’ve collided with that nose gear and possibly collapsed that front end of the plane.”

(Visited 4 times, 4 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *