NASA officials have confirmed that a driver moving at high speed plowed through Moffett Field's main gate last Friday night, nearly killing two security guards, one of whom dove into the guard shack to avoid the speeding car.

In an e-mailed statement, Deborah Feng, NASA Ames director of center operations, said two NASA security officers "have sustained non-life threatening injuries and both are resting at home." The driver's status was not disclosed.

According to a NASA Ames employee who called the Voice to report details of the incident, the driver's vehicle sped toward a security truck parked next to the main gate. The driver of the truck, seeing a car speeding towards him at 60-plus miles an hour, began to pull away, but was hit and run off the road, causing the truck to destroy a new electronic sign just inside the gate.

The driver of the truck was knocked unconscious, and both vehicles were totaled, the NASA Ames employee said.

The driver, meanwhile, fled on foot, and was chased down by military personnel who live in nearby military housing, according to the NASA employee, who wished to remain anonymous.

NASA officials have declined to identify the driver, who was processed by a NASA special agent after a night in the hospital. The incident reportedly happened sometime between 8 and 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.

It is unclear exactly what the driver's intentions were. The NASA employee said that he appeared to be drunk. However, an Army officer stationed at Moffett thought the incident might not be accidental.

"I think their intention was to access the facility or cause some commotion," said the officer. "It really underscores the reason we need to have actual law enforcement here."

NASA has wanted the main security gate to be taken down as part of ongoing efforts to build a large university campus and expanded research park at Moffett Field. But the military, which has 200 homes and several operations at Moffett, is opposed to the idea.

The destroyed LED sign just inside the main gate had recently been put up to tout NASA's accomplishments. NASA employees arrived Monday to see that it was missing.

Editor's Note: This updated story corrects some misinformation contained in the previous version.