30 Years Later: A Look Back at the 1995 San Diego Tank Rampage

30 years later: A look back at the 1995 San Diego tank rampage

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- It’s been 30 years since a 57-ton tank from a local National Guard armory was destructively steered through the streets of San Diego. As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, on May 17, 1995, a man from Clairemont set out on a fateful journey that would end in his death. This unprecedented incident, which left a trail of destruction, has remained etched in the city's memory for three decades. The man inside the tank …

1995 tank rampage through streets of San Diego

In the three decades since a 58-ton US Army M60 tank rampaged across the city of San Diego for nearly 30 minutes, video recorded that day has lost none of its power to shock. Scores of cars, an entire RV, streetlights, fire hydrants — all of it crushed like so many toys beneath a stampeding toddler as Shawn Nelson drove what some at the time called the biggest gun in San Diego, which, fortunately, never fired. The one-time tank commander sliced …