Motorcyclist leads police on I-70 chase that hits 170 mph

[PeteSC]

Motorcyclist leads police on I-70 chase that hits 170 mph
BY KATHIE O. WARCO, Staff writer

kwarco@observer-reporter.com


Rico Lamar Porter doesn't have a license to drive, but apparently he thought he had a license to fly Wednesday afternoon.

Porter, 27, of 25 Dyer Drive, Hickory, was arrested after leading state police on an eight-mile, 170-mph chase on traffic-congested Interstate 70.

That's no misprint. Commonly referred to as a sport bike or "crotch rocket," an aerodynamic motorcycle like the one Porter was operating is capable of speeds of around 200 mph.

Trooper Martin Gonglik was running radar about 4:20 p.m. near the Dunningsville exit of the highway when he clocked Porter going 120 mph.

Gonglik activated the lights and siren on his police car and attempted to stop Porter, but the motorcylist instead took off. With the trooper in his marked police cruiser in pursuit, Porter weaved in and out of eastbound traffic.

At times, he drove on the berm to get around vehicles. And not surprisingly, Porter didn't use his turn signal during lane changes.

Porter got off the highway at the Centerville exit and momentarily lost control of his slick speedster. Gonglik swerved to avoid a collision, hitting a guard rail. Porter again tried to flee, going south on Route 481, but ended up hitting the side of the police cruiser. Porter, who was wearing a helmet, was slightly injured and taken to Washington Hospital for treatment.

District Judge Jay Weller initially thought police had made a mistake when he read the criminal complaint filed against Porter.

"When I asked about going 170 mph, he just nodded his head," Weller said of Porter. "He was very forthright about everything. He said he just got the bike two weeks ago and hadn't even made the first payment."

Porter told Weller that his bike-riding days were over.

"He said it was a good thing that the trooper caught him because he probably would have killed himself," Weller said. "He was trying to catch up with some friends. He wondered why he caught up with them so quickly, but they had seen the trooper and slowed down."

Porter was arraigned before Weller on charges of reckless endangerment, fleeing and eluding police, driving with a suspended license, having no registration, having no insurance, driving off the road, not using his turn signal, failing to drive at a safe speed, speeding, careless driving, reckless driving and not having the vehicle inspected. He was placed in Washington County Jail on $2,500 bond.

A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday before District Judge Curtis Thompson.
   

[PitterB4]

And not surprisingly, Porter didn't use his turn signal during lane changes.

Man, there's some crack reporting!  

[PeteSC]

Man, there's some crack reporting!

Dude, even though almost NOBODY uses turn signals, it's the law, and reason enough for the cops to stop you....or try to!

  I'm real anal about using turn signals, and annoyed when people don't use them.  (OK, I stay annoyed...)

[PitterB4]

Pete - I TOTALLY agree.  That's a big pet peve of mine too.  I just thought the comment seemed kind of silly in the story.  I'm picturing the guy weaving in out of stopped traffic using his signal at every turn.

[PeteSC]

It is kind of unusual that the reporter mentioned it, but, they did include the nice list of charges at the end....

reckless endangerment, fleeing and eluding police, driving with a suspended license, having no registration, having no insurance, driving off the road, not using his turn signal, failing to drive at a safe speed, speeding, careless driving, reckless driving and not having the vehicle inspected

  Maybe his defense can be "But Judge, I was too busy getting rid of the dope in my pockets to use that hand to operate a turn signal!"



FWIW, I-70 near Washington, PA isn't exactly like I-70 across Kansas.
  There are rolling hills, and some minor sweeps....

[chippi]

Weller said. "He was trying to catch up with some friends. He wondered why he caught up with them so quickly, but they had seen the trooper and slowed down."

Nice friends way to break in a new rider. Leave hime so far behind he's got to hit 150 to catch up

[JerseyDog]

failing to drive at a safe speed, speeding,

Ummm, maybe I'm ignorant, but isn't this kind of redundant? Or is that just a way to collect more $$$$ for the donut fund?

[PeteSC]

failing to drive at a safe speed, speeding,

 That may be some version of 'driving too fast for conditions'.........
  You know, kind of like when you're doing 60 MPH in a 70 MPH zone, but it's foggy, or icy, or something.....

    It could also be the same as 'failure to maintain control',  when he ran off the road.

  I'm guessing the list of violations will be shortened quite a bit if he has a lawyer.

[bridge]

Not a fan of cops, but he was probably lucky they caught him so early in his biking carrer. He doesn't seem to fear the speeds that thing is capable of.

Unfortuanately he will now be driving a driving a 2 ton weapon when he feels the need for speed

[Red01]

failing to drive at a safe speed, speeding,

Ummm, maybe I'm ignorant, but isn't this kind of redundant? Or is that just a way to collect more $$$$ for the donut fund?

I noticed there were several charges that seemed either redundant or ones that normally trump another... at least in my home state.

Let's see, there's:
reckless endangerment
fleeing and eluding police
driving with a suspended license
having no registration
having no insurance
driving off the road
not using his turn signal
failing to drive at a safe speed
speeding
careless driving
reckless driving
not having the vehicle inspected

Seems like Reckless Endangerment trumps these:
driving off the road
not using his turn signal
failing to drive at a safe speed
speeding
careless driving
reckless driving

At the rate they're throwing charges around, I'm wondering why they didn't throw negligent driving in there, too.

Oh, and he must not have done 170 for very long or the cop would never have caught him.