Two men who died in a fiery, single-vehicle crash at a closed entrance to McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, Sunday night have been identified by local officials.
Sedgwick County spokeswoman Kate Flavin said the victims are 17-year-old Isaiah Chandler and 29-year-old Matthew Pyles.
Neither man is affiliated with McConnell, according to base officials.
The 22nd Security Forces Squadron and McConnell’s fire department responded to the vehicle fire, according to base officials. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
The preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit a denial barrier at the closed 31st Street secondary access point and burst into flames, according to a base press release. That entrance was barricaded after the 9/11 attacks and is only used occasionally to admit vehicles during special events.
“We are deeply saddened to lose two of our neighbors,” said Col. Josh Olson, 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander. “We are grateful to live in a community that will come together to support their family.”
McConnell base officials are working with local authorities at the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and the Wichita Police Department, and an investigation is currently ongoing.
McConnell, one of three active KC-135 wings, is home to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, the Air Force Reserve’s 931st Air Refueling Wing and the Kansas Air National Guard’s 184th Intelligence Wing.
