Dec 18, 2007 5:03 pm US/Pacific
Police I.D. Motorcycle Rider Killed During Chase
COVINA (CBS) ―
A motorcycle rider who crashed into a tree and killed himself while fleeing police was identified Tuesday.
Michael Arthur Mendoza, 57, of Covina, died almost instantly in the wreck on southbound Azusa Avenue near Arrow Highway, said Ed Winter of the coroner's office.
"He must have been going pretty fast for his body to knock down the palm tree," Felipe De Anda, an overnight manager at a nearby Wal-Mart, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
West Covina police tried to stop Mendoza for an unspecified traffic violation near Azusa Avenue and the San Bernardino (10) Freeway about 11:40 last night, but he sped off on his Harley-Davidson at speeds up to 100 mph, according to West Covina police Lt. Marcos Plebani.
The pursuit went through West Covina, Covina and parts of Irwindale and Azusa, until police, including an officer tracking the action in a helicopter, decided to call it off because of the speeds involved.
"West Covina police terminated the chase about 11:47 p.m." near Lark Ellen Avenue and Arrow Highway, Plebani said.
An officer in the helicopter saw the rider loose control of the motorcycle as he headed south on Azusa Avenue just south of Arrow Highway,
Covina police Lt. Tim Doonan told an On Scene Video camera crew.Mendoza came off the bike and struck a palm tree, he said.
The riderless Harley slid about 400 feet, coming to rest near the Covina Market Place mall.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
