AUGUSTA, Maine — Officials say a man is dead after a 100 mph motorcycle chase, followed by a high-speed car chase that were both discontinued due to safety.
The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office said the first incident began around 6 p.m. Friday, when a police officer spotted a motorcycle driving approximately 100 m.p.h., on East Route 202 in Manchester.
The officer attempted to stop the speeding motorcycle, but it took off at a high rate of speed. However, police said they found the abandoned motorcycle shortly after in a parking lot near the Augusta/Manchester town line and saw a man running into the nearby woods.
After investigating, they found that the registered owner of the motorcycle was in the process of selling the motorcycle to a man by the name of Mark Sousa, 44, of Augusta.
Just a few hours later, at approximately 9:30 p.m., police received another report of a speeding car. Police say the speeding car belonged to Sousa. He was driving a Volks Wagon Jetta at a high rate of speed on Burns Road in Augusta.
An officer tried to stop him, but Sousa continued to drive away and, according to police, turned the headlights off. Police stopped pursuing Sousa’s car on Prescott Road because they said he was driving recklessly.
Witnesses told police the general direction that Sousa’s car was headed. Police followed until they saw tire tracks that appeared to veer off into the woods. After searching the area, police said they found the car and Sousa’s body in the woods. Police said they believe he was thrown from the car and died at the scene of the accident.
