The Portland International Jetport was shut down for nearly an hour Sunday morning after a man crashed a vehicle through an airport fire gate and drove on a runway for about a half-mile before crashing into a fence.

Jetport Director Paul Bradbury said the incident, which took place around 7:30 a.m., forced jetport officials to close the runway for about 45 minutes.

The driver of the vehicle was later arrested by Portland police and is facing four criminal charges related to the incident.

In a news release Sunday night, Portland police identified the driver as 33-year-old George Gillmore III. Gillmore was staying at the Embassy Suites hotel near the jetport, police said.

Gillmore is charged with criminal trespass, leaving the scene of an accident, driving to endanger and aggravated criminal mischief, police said in the release. He could also face federal charges and fines, they added.

According to police, Gillmore drove through a fire gate in South Portland and proceeded to drive across the runway area, causing damage to the grass. Airport officials also said the vehicle left skid marks on the road.

The incident ended when Gillmore crashed the vehicle into a fence around a pond that’s located in a secure area of the runway.

Jetport personnel discovered around 7:30 a.m. Sunday that the car had crashed through a fence off Jetport Plaza Road, which is on the South Portland side along the back of the airport, Bradbury said.

The car was found with no one inside, officials said.

“We did close the runway for about 45 minutes while we did a safety and security inspection to make sure nobody was on the airfield,” Assistant Jetport Director Zach Sundquist said.

The jetport was shut down from about 7:30 to 8:15 a.m., Sundquist said. Earlier flights took off as normal before the abandoned vehicle was found.

Sundquist said no flights were delayed or canceled.

Crews were repairing the hole in the fence on the Jetport Plaza Road. The vehicle was towed away.

There have been vehicle crashes at the perimeter fence off Jetport Plaza Road before – sometimes up to six in a year, Sundquist said. But this crash was unusual in that the car didn’t just crash into the fence, it went all the way through and continued for about half a mile onto airport property, Sundquist added.

Bradbury said one reason why it’s not uncommon for vehicles to crash into the fence is that Jetport Plaza Road has a stretch of straight road followed by a sharp curve, where vehicles have previously run into the fence. If a driver is impaired or driving too fast, “they get up too much speed and don’t make the turn,” Bradbury said.