Man injured in motorcycle crash was fleeing police

One man was injured when his motorcycle crashed near the 300 block of North Lorimier Street after fleeing a police officer Monday afternoon.

Cape Girardeau Police Sgt. Adam Glueck said before the crash, an officer tried to stop the motorcyclist for excessive speed at 2:48 p.m.

Cape Girardeau Police Cpl. Rodney Edwards locates the wreckage of a motorcycle that crashed into a ravine behind a barricade at the end of the 300 block of North Lorimier Street on Monday afternoon in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

When the man fled, the officer pursued him about two blocks before discontinuing the pursuit because of safety concerns, Glueck said.

Police received a report of the same motorcyclist crashing at the end of North Lorimier Street at 2:54 p.m.

Witnesses at the scene described seeing the man driving a motorcycle north on North Lorimier Street at high speed and losing control of it after cresting the hill at North Lorimier and Bellevue streets, crashing into a dead-end barricade at the foot of the hill.

The police officer who tried to stop the man was not behind the motorcycle when it crashed, Glueck said in an email, and that the officer did not see the crash.

Paramedics were seen stabilizing a bloodied man at the foot of the hill.

The man wore red pants, a red shirt and a motorcycle helmet that matched the description of the man who allegedly fled police.

Police did not release the man's name or comment on the extent of his injuries, but he moved an arm and a leg as paramedics tried to ascertain whether he was conscious.

After paramedics left to transport the man to a hospital, police photographed the site and pulled pieces of the man's white sport motorcycle out of the brush beyond the barricade.

The motorcycle driver is removed from the crash scene at the end of the 300 block of North Lorimier Street Monday afternoon in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

The man remains in a hospital.

The pursuing officer has applied for a warrant for various traffic-related charges.

tgraef@semissourian.com

388-3627