Sheriff’s office identifies man killed in crash during law enforcement pursuit

LOMPOC, Calif. - The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office has identified the man who died in a crash while being pursued by law enforcement Monday evening near Vandenberg Space Force Base.

According to Raquel Zick, public information officer for the sheriff's office, Jose Mario Velez of Lompoc was killed in a rollover crash on Highway 1.

The crash happened around 9:45 p.m. near the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 135.

At the time of the crash, Velez was fleeing Vandenberg Space Force Base security forces. According to Vandenberg officials, Velez was seen driving erratically and refused to stop.

He failed to navigate a turn and his vehicle went off an embankment and ended up on its roof. The vehicle was badly damaged and crews were unable to get to Velez inside the vehicle.

After about an hour, he was removed from the vehicle and declared dead.

The crash is under investigation by both CHP and Vandenberg Space Force Base.