Car drives onto tarmac and crashes into terminal at North Carolina airport, deputies say | CNN

CNN
 — 

A driver in North Carolina is accused of crashing a car through doors and windows into a terminal at Wilmington International Airport after driving onto the tarmac.

The suspect, whom investigators have not identified, faces state and federal charges, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office said.

The driver of the white, compact car broke through an airport fence shortly before 7 p.m. and drove around on the tarmac, according to a sheriff’s office news release and photos.

The driver was engaged by deputies, then crashed the car into the terminal and was detained, the sheriff’s office said.

The car, its windshield smashed and front end crumpled, later rested next to a potted tree on the ivory and blue terminal floor, a photo shows.

No one from the public was injured, the airport said in post on Twitter. The airport remained open Thursday night with “minimal impact to operations,” the post said. The airport “expects to be fully operational by the morning,” spokesperson Erin McNally told CNN.

The sheriff’s office “responded swiftly, detained the individual, and is coordinating with partner agencies,” the airport said.