A man who crashed his car into the restraining barricades at Hill Air Force Base's south gate early Wednesday morning managed to elude the base's security forces for six hours before he was caught.

Hill officials said the man drove up to the gate about 4 a.m., but was told by guards that he could not enter without identification. When the man gunned through the checkpoint, guards activated a set of emergency barriers, which rise out of the ground a short distance from the gate. The barriers stopped the car, but the man fled on foot.

Base spokesman Rich Essary said it does not appear that the man was able to gain entry into any sensitive areas of the facility or approach the base's multi-billion dollar fleet of aircraft. But he did manage to evade roving security patrols until about 10 a.m., when he was apprehended near the east side of the base.

The south gate was closed for about three hours following the incident and the man was being questioned about his reasons for trying to get on the base.