LEMOORE — Officials say two people with South Bay ties were killed when they crashed their SUV through a gate then into a parked fighter jet at a Central Valley naval base while reportedly fleeing authorities.

Anthony Castillo, 29, of Campbell, and Melissa Miller, 36, of San Jose, were in a purple 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee that late Wednesday ran into the back of an F/A-18E Super Hornet parked at Naval Air Station Lemoore, about 35 miles south of Fresno, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Capt. Monty Ashilman said the base does not appear to have been targeted, and that the two people who died have no military affiliations. He did not offer an estimate of the damage to the property and the aircraft.

The sequence unfolded at 11:38 p.m. when CHP officers spotted the SUV parked on the shoulder of Jackson Avenue west of Highway 41, and pulled behind the vehicle and turned on their spotlights. As the officers were getting out of their own vehicle, the Jeep sped away westbound on Jackson, the CHP said.

The officers followed the fleeing vehicle as it got onto eastbound Highway 198, briefly going the wrong way on the roadway before crossing into normal traffic, the CHP said. The SUV turned onto 25th Street and made its way onto Reeves Boulevard toward the naval base and entered the grounds.

With a CHP helicopter watching overhead and base security personnel responding, the Jeep crashed into the jet’s horizontal stabilizer, the base said. Miller died at the scene, and Castillo, identified as the driver, was rushed to the hospital, where he also died from his injuries.

The circumstances behind the chase and crash were not released and remain under investigation, and it was not clear whether alcohol or drugs factored into the encounter.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the Hanford CHP office at 559-582-0231 or the Naval Air Station Lemoore at 559-998-3393.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow him at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.