Car drives onto taxiway in bizarre incident at SoCal airport

A contract security guard was hospitalized Monday afternoon after he drove onto an airport taxiway and sped past planes, authorities said.

On Dec. 8 around 1:12 p.m., the guard assigned to a security checkpoint “drove a vehicle into an airport taxiway at a high rate of speed,” according to a statement from John Wayne Airport spokesperson AnnaSophia Servin.

Video shared with ABC7 showed a white sedan speeding down the taxiway near planes. The news outlet reported that an air traffic controller advised a Southwest plane to “hold position.”

“There’s a high-speed chase on the taxiway,” the controller said.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies detained the driver shortly thereafter and requested a medical assessment from the Orange County Fire Authority, the statement said.

“The individual was evaluated on scene and determined to be experiencing a possible medical emergency,” Servin said.

He was subsequently hospitalized and suspended from his job, according to the statement. Airport operations continued on schedule.