A high-speed chase involving a motorcyclist without lights ended with a crash near railroad tracks and a brief manhunt on foot that ended near the Westwood Chamber of Commerce office on Ash Street Monday night.
According to the Susanville office of the California Highway Patrol, the incident began at approximately 8:45p.m. on September 15th, when a CHP officer from the Chester Resident Post attempted to pull over a motorcycle operating without headlights on County Road A-21.
The driver, identified by the CHP as 33-year-old Quincy resident James Kaufman, failed to yield and continued eastbound at a high rate of speed, before reaching railroad tracks and a passing train.
“Kaufman laid the motorcycle down to avoid colliding with a moving train,” explains CHP Public Information Officer Travis Music.
After the crash, Kaufman fled the scene on foot, running southbound along the railroad tracks. He then hid in a nearby bush in an attempt to evade capture.
A Lassen County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived on the scene to assist, and authorities quickly located Kaufman. He was apprehended without further incident. Kaufman was transported to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries sustained when he slid the motorcycle on its side.
Officer Music thanked the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in apprehending Kaufman.
