CFB ESQUIMALT
Military touts safety after crash turns fatal near base
Motorist sped past lone security guard
BRENNAN CLARKE
Special to The Globe and Mail
August 15, 2008
VICTORIA -- Officials with CFB Esquimalt say there's no need for beefed-up security after a bizarre car crash early yesterday in which a vehicle sped past a security checkpoint and plunged into the ocean, killing one person and leaving another in critical condition.
"The existing measures currently in force at CFB Esquimalt are considered adequate and appropriate for the current security climate," said Commander Tim Howard, head of port operations and emergency services.
"The motor vehicle incident of last night has not changed our security posture in any way."
The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, when a private vehicle roared past a lone security guard stationed in a hut at the base's Naden entrance and sped toward a T-intersection bordering Esquimalt Harbour.
The vehicle hurtled through the intersection, shearing an 18-inch concrete barrier in two before plunging down a rocky five-metre embankment into the ocean. There were no skid marks at the scene.
In a statement issued yesterday, the base public affairs office said the deceased, a woman, has been identified, but her name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The other victim, a man, cannot be named due to privacy-act restrictions, the statement said, adding that there is no military or DND connection with either the occupants or the incident itself.
Still, the crash is being probed by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, an independent arm of the military specializing "in serious or sensitive service and criminal offences against property, persons, and the Department of National Defence," according to its website.
The agency was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Sub-Lieutenant Michael McWhinney, spokesman for base public affairs, said the Naden portion of CFB Esquimalt - used mainly for accommodations, office buildings, recreation facilities and other non-military functions - is considered an "open" base.
"There's no barrier or physical impediments to coming on the base. It's sort of a voluntary checkpoint. People are just asked to show I.D. at the gate," SLt. McWhinney said.
The Naden security gate is equipped with a wooden barricade that is often left in the raised position, as it was at the time of the incident, he said.
The entrance also features a set of chain link gates that are customarily left open.
However, SLt. McWhinney stressed that any sensitive military activities on the base, including the docking and repair of navy ships, take place in the nearby Dockyard area of CFB Esquimalt, which has tighter security measures.
"The Dockyard portion is not an open base," he said.
Wednesday's crash occurred less than 500 metres from HMCS Brandon, a Kingston-class defence vessel docked across the bay from the Naden entrance.
CFB Esquimalt, Canada's second-largest military base, serves as headquarters for Canada's Pacific naval fleet and employs an estimated 6,000 military and civilian personnel at several locations in Greater Victoria.