Rider on stolen motorcycle involved in high-speed chase gets away with help of a friend

A man on a stolen motorcycle that led local law enforcement on a high-speed chase through the City of Batavia and the Village of Le Roy yesterday got away.

A witness in Avon apparently saw the rider get off the red Honda bike and get into a green car and leave.

"The odd thing is, he took the time to put the kick stand down," said Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble, Sheriff's Office.

Dibble said it's likely the rider phoned a friend to pick him up in Avon.

There's no description available of the suspect, other than he's allegedly a black male.

The chase started on Route 5 at Kelsey Road, on the west side of Batavia, where a deputy was positioned on routine traffic patrol when the bike sped past, Dibble said.

City PD joined the pursuit when it came down Main Street.

Dibble said officers were aware the Oatka Festival was taking place in Le Roy and backed off as they approached the village.

The chase came through Le Roy about 5:45 p.m. and the crowd was dispersing from the Duck Derby, which had just ended. The derby had gotten a late start because of technical difficulties.

Witnesses praised the work of Le Roy PD patrolman Daryl Robb, who was handling traffic control at the intersection of Wolcott and Main streets.

Robb cleared the intersection of pedestrians and kept everybody away from the street as the motorcycle sped through village.

"We saw the kid crest the hill in an instant and fly down Main Street at a conservative 95 an hour," said Le Roy resident Bud Prevost. "Several City of Batavia police cars and two Sheriff's cars were in hot in pursuit. It was a very dangerous situation when you had several hundred people milling around that intersection.

"Kudos to this young man," Prevost added. "He took control, as a good officer should, and made a lasting impression on me."

When the plate of the motorcycle was first called it, the dispatch centered received a teletype indicating the bike had been connected to felony crime. That information turned out to be inaccurate, but the motorcycle had been reported stolen out of Rochester.

"This wasn't a situation like we typically get where a motorcycle is involved in a high-speed chase and then the owner calls later and reports it stolen," Dibble said. "It was reported stolen before the chase."