Late-Night Decatur Motorcycle Chase Ends in Wreck
Decatur Metro | October 19, 2010 | 9:30 amUPDATE: Here’s the official word from Decatur PD’s Keith Lee…
The Georgia State Patrol chased a stolen motorcycle into the city. The driver of the motorcycle lost control and sustained minor injuries. All reports concerning the incident were handled by GSP.
I’m going to check with Decatur Police obviously, but I received two reliable reports last night around 10:40pm of a motorcycle chase down East College Ave that then turned and went down Howard/DeKalb and seems to have ended in a wreck of some sort.
The first report is an ear-witness one…
Last night at about 10:35, quite the ruckus went screaming by our house on West College.
The first sound seemed very much like a high-performance motorcycle (maybe car, but it sounded higher pitch) going in excess of 80 or 100 mph.
The next sound, just a second or two behind, was a police car hauling ass with sirens on. And then a second. And then a third. And then a fourth.
Then there was about a three minute pause, at which time the sound of probably an ambulance went by. Another minute, then a fire engine.
The second is an EYE-witness report, which confirms the motorcycle…
Police just zoomed by chasing a motorcycle at high speed down west college, the motorcycle got across the tracks, then he raced east down Howard/Dekalb ave with police in tow. Minutes later the first responders headed in the same direction. My guess is the motorcyclist wrecked.
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Update from Deputy Chief Keith Lee above
The Georgia State Patrol officer on the scene said that the motorcycle was stolen in the Highlands. He said GSP was working “Crime Suppression” in city of Atlanta and had in fact just arrested some guys on a gun crime when the thief blew by at high speeds on the motorcycle.
He said that his unit is frequently chasing down motorcycles on the Interstate, and they have to do it, since they don’t know why the guy is running (“Did he just shoot someone?”)
The group of bystanders who enjoyed the chat with the officer left with a great deal more respect for the often tough jobs of GSP.
The officer also specifically refuted the idea that they knocked the rider off the bike, saying that the guy just lost control. Tough job — what if the motorcycle had collided with a Decatur resident at 75+ MPH?
Thanks much for the firsthand report JD!
I heard those sirens last night between 10:20 – 10:40, but I couldn’t tell where they were coming from. I also heard the sound of an engine at high speed, then silence, then ambulance/fire trucks. As fast as it sounded like the motorcycle was going, I can’t believe the driver sustained only minor injuries.
My guess is that the driver of the stolen motorcycle also stole the helmet or the injuries might be more than minor.
Anybody know which SEC team the motorcycle thief plays for…?
It was awfully loud and intense (fast and furious) at Howard and Pattillo Way.
All I could think is ‘Thank God my kids are in bed’…there’s no telling what could have happened if it was just a few hours earlier! It’s a high foot-traffic area.
I am astonished it was only minor injuries.
This was outside my house and it didn’t sound like he had minor injuries – you could hear him moaning/groaning while waiting for the ambulance which took a while to arrive – not a sound I want to hear again… it was a little disturbing how long it took the ambulance to arrive, I would hope, if it were me in a wreck they would have got their sooner….
Also from the look of the cars etc it looks like the bike may have hit the back of a cop car as the cop cars back bumper had extensive damage…
Here’s the AJC’s version of the story with a couple more details. No hat-tip of course.
Heard this from my place halfway down melrose. assumed it was a bike from the sound, I could hear it over the shower!