KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — An American civilian employed by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service was killed in a car crash outside Ramstein Air Base’s east gate before dawn Tuesday, according to German police and Air Force officials.

The man was identified as Fred Rauschenberger, 66, a warehouse worker at Ramstein, according to an AAFES spokesman.

Rauschenberger was driving a 1999 silver Volkswagen Beetle when he approached the east gate at high speed and, without braking, struck a concrete barrier at 3:48 a.m., according to German police and base officials.

The vehicle rolled twice and came to rest upside down in the far right lane next to a guard shack, a base official said in an email response. No other personnel were injured and damage to the gate area was minimal, the base official said.

Rauschenberger died of injuries at the scene, said Gerd Schnarr, a spokesman with the Landstuhl police department.

In 2006, there was a similar accident at the same gate involving a small truck but no one died, Schnarr said.

Migrated