Motive sought in fatal crash at Travis air base after terrorism is ruled out

After ruling out terrorism, authorities are still in search of a motive after a man caught fire last week and crashed his minivan, stocked with propane tanks and gas canisters, at the front gate of the Travis Air Force Base, authorities said.

Hafiz Kazi, 51, of Sausalito was pronounced dead Wednesday after driving through the main gate of the base in Fairfield and crashing his minivan, said FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan, at a news conference Friday.

Sean Ragan, FBI special agent in charge, briefs reporters Friday about a fatal crash at the main gate of Travis Air Force Base on Wednesday. Sean Ragan, FBI special agent in charge, briefs reporters Friday about a fatal crash at the main gate of Travis Air Force Base on Wednesday. Photo: Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press Photo: Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Motive sought in fatal crash at Travis air base after terrorism is ruled out 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

“Now the question is, why?” Ragan said. “Why was he there? What led him there? And we don’t know the answers to that. So the investigation that we are doing right now is trying to piece together his life and trying to piece together what led up to this event and attempt to determine why he was there and why he had those items in his vehicle.”

Kazi emigrated from India in 1993 and lived as a legal permanent resident in the Bay Area, where he previously worked as a cabdriver, Ragan said.

So far, authorities have ruled that the incident was not religiously motivated or was an act of terror.

“The thought originally was that it was some sort of accident as it was coming to the front gate,” Ragan said.

No shots were fired in the incident.

Investigators are working “night and day” to determine a motive in the incident, Ragan said, adding that there was “nothing left in writing at the scene” that signaled Kazi’s intentions.

Several associates of Kazi’s have been identified and taken in for interviews, Ragan added.

One relative was tracked down in India for the next-of-kin notification.

Kazi appeared to be on fire as first responders from the base pried the locked doors of his Kia minivan open, Ragan added.

Investigators uncovered five propane tanks, a gym bag with personal effects, three phones, three plastic one-gallon gas cans and several lighters.

The Solano County coroner’s office was able to identify Kazi through his fingerprints, though he was badly burned, Ragan said.

The office is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of his death.