Crash Victim Was Riding Stolen Motorcycle

A motorcyclist being pursued by the Iowa State Patrol was arrested and transported to an Omaha hospital after crashing the stolen bike in Mills County shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23.Chad Larsen, 36, of Council Bluffs crashed in the ditch of the eastbound lane of U.S. Highway 34, approximately one-half mile east of Highway 275 (Tabor turnoff). He attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended and arrested after climbing over a barbed-wire fence and falling down repeatedly while trying to get away through a nearby farm field.Larsen was treated for non-life threatening injuries and now faces charges of possession of stolen property, speeding, eluding law enforcement officers, wreckless driving, improper passing, operating without a valid motorcycle license or valid registration and no proof of insurance.According to an investigativereport from the Iowa State Patrol, the motorcycle was observed traveling at a high rate of speed from southbound 221st Street in Glenwood onto the Highway 34 eastbound entrance ramp by an Iowa State Patrol trooper. The officer began pursuing the motorcycle eastbound on Highway 34 after checking his speed at 71 mph.The state patrol indicated Larsen was having difficulty shifting gears on the motorcycle as the speed of the bike reached 80 mph. Once the pursuit passed the intersection of Highway 275, Larsen began slowing down, but appeared to still be having difficulty shifting gears as the bike crashed and landed in a ditch along the south side of the highway.The motorcycle had license plates properly registered to a motorcycle in Nebraska. It wasn’t until officers did a check of the motorcycle’s VIN number that they were able to determine the plates didn’t match and the bike had actually been stolen from Pottawattamie County.