Let The Good Times Roll
By Wyatt Earp | December 31, 2009
Boy, I really have to move to Arizona. Apparently, every day there is Drive Like Steve McQueen Day.
PHOENIX – A motorcyclist is in custody after leading Arizona highway patrol officers on a chase at speeds reaching 140 mph.
Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves says 22-year-old Ian Jonathan Ereckson of Phoenix rode his high-performance sport bike along the streets of west Phoenix and even into the airport. He then headed north on an interstate.
The chase ended near Black Canyon City nearly 50 miles north of Phoenix when the rider either ran out of fuel or his bike broke down. (H/T – Breitbart)
Unbelievably, a local television station captured some of the chase on tape. The video is below the fold:
Topics: Snarkasm | 9 Comments »
December 31st, 2009 at 9:01 pm
We had a similar one here yesterday. It was like the wild west out in the rice fields and orchards before they headed into town. Here are some pieces of the newspaper story.
CHICO — The high-speed pursuit of a man suspected of stealing a car in Chico Wednesday morning ended about 12:30 p.m. when he crashed the vehicle into a guardrail at the Midway and Hegan Lane, and was immediately surrounded by police.
The pursuit began when Butte County sheriff’s detective Brett Marsters heard a bulletin on a reported stolen red 1986 Acura Integra, then spotted it on the Midway near Nelson Road about 12:15 p.m.
Marsters said Madderra made a sudden U-turn and raced onto Nelson, where he reached speeds up to 130 mph.
Several other deputies, California Highway Patrol officers and a Chico State University officer had joined the chase by then. A roadblock was set up at Dayton and Hegan, which would either force Madderra to stop, or turn right onto Hegan, where the CHP had set up a spike strip.
The suspect missed the right turn, but also avoided the spike strip by turning into an orchard, where he paralleled Hegan for about 200 yards, then got back onto the roadway.
As Madderra drove east on Hegan at speeds between 90 and 100 mph, sheriff’s Lt. Al Smith ordered the pursuit terminated for public safety reasons.
Marsters and others in the chase turned off their lights, but continued to follow the suspect vehicle at a distance.
As Madderra approached the intersection of Hegan and the Midway, Chico police officer Todd Lefkowitz cut him off with his patrol car and forced the Acura to go straight, running into the guardrail.
Marsters and a second sheriff’s detective pinned the Acura in from the rear and passenger side, leaving Madderra nowhere to run.
Lefkowitz was the first officer to reach the suspect, and said he didn’t resist.
Madderra, who was found to be on parole for vehicle theft, claimed he hadn’t stolen the Acura.
December 31st, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Ingineer66 – I wish we could puruse here, but our commissioner is a panty waste.
December 31st, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Those crotch-rockets come flying down onto 95 via the South Street (?) ramp. It is crazy. They are like jet fighters, you don’t hear them until they are right on you and then they whir by…scaring the bejeebus out of folks.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Ya they have been trying to pass a state law here that bans most pursuits but it has not been able to pass. Somehow they think it is the cops fault not the dirt bags that are running from the police. Sorry about the long post earlier, I didn’t realize it would take up so much space.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Just shoot em when it starts, then no pursuit is required…
January 1st, 2010 at 9:30 am
Some days I really miss living there, and most days I don’t.
January 1st, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Kansas got hot rods for I-70 when Suzuki came out with that outrageous Hayubusa. Nothing else could catch it or handle like it.
January 1st, 2010 at 4:24 pm
The headline started out saying 170, then it went to 140, and last I checked it was something like “speeds exceeding 100 MPH”.
January 1st, 2010 at 5:24 pm
RT – And it’s pretty comical when they wipe out. Just sayin’.
Ingineer66 – No apologies necessary.
Old NFO – See, that’s thinking outside the box!
USAdmiral – Yeah, sometimes the negatives outweigh the positives.
Glenn – I remember driving to Florida for Spring Training in 1992 when a South Carolina State Trooper blew past us in his Mustang. Nice.
Mark – Lousy incorrect media!