St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department Deputies responded to two vehicle incidents on Monday and Tuesday according to press releases issued by Sheriff Mark Lillywhite. The incidents included a motorcycle crash on Shimmel Road on Monday evening and a high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 12 early this morning.

In Monday’s incident, Deputies responded at around 5:30 p.m. to a single-vehicle motorcycle crash on Shimmel Road near Storms Road. The vehicle’s operator, a 29-year-old Sturgis man, had been traveling south on a sport motorbike at high speed and attempting to pass multiple vehicles when the crash occurred. One such vehicle, also southbound, attempted to make a left turn into Glen Oaks Community College. The motorcyclist veered to avoid the collision, leaving the roadway and losing control in the adjacent ditch.

The motorcyclist was wearing a helment, and upon first responders’ arrival, appeared conscious and alert. However, he showed signs of a head injury, and an airlift transported him to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo for further evaluation and treatment. Lillywhite said speed was a factor in the accident. The Centreville and Three Rivers Fire Departments provided onsite assistance, as did West Michigan Aircare.

In this morning’s incident, deputies were dispatched to a Marathon gas station in Mottville Township on a report of a disorderly subject. A short while afterward, deputies located a vehicle speeding on U.S. Highway 1 headed west from Vistula Road. They attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle’s driver took off at high speed toward Cass County. He was caught and stopped west of South River Road. Identified as a 32-year-old White Pigeon man, he was taken into custody. Deputies later confirmed that he was also the suspect from the disorderly complaint. Lillywhite said that “charges are being requested for fleeing and eluding” as well as for operating while intoxicated, which would be the perpetrator’s second such offense.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.