With deputies chasing him, speeding motorcyclist finally stops — after crashing into car
A Boca Raton man who police say was speeding on his motorcycle on U.S. 1 Sunday morning only stopped for police after crashing his bike into the back of a car.
Bruno Rochae Melo, 24, was cited by a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy for fleeing and eluding police and driving an unregistered motorcycle. Melo could not be reached for comment.
He was also treated at Mariners Hospital in Tavernier for “multiple cuts and bruises” after crashing his 2007 Suzuki bike into a car at mile marker 105 on U.S. 1 in Key Largo around 11 a.m., sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt said.
“There were no life-threatening injuries reported,” Linhardt said.
Two other motorcyclists with Melo managed to get away from deputies, who were trying to stop them after seeing the pack speed south through Key Largo and Islamorada beginning at 10:23 a.m., Linhardt said.
They were not only going too fast, but also illegally passing other drivers in the center turning lane and also the shoulder of U.S. 1.
Deputies got behind the bikes several times with their lights and sirens on, but called off the pursuit and radioed ahead so they would not endanger the public, Linhardt said. Deputies only chase vehicles in certain circumstances and after receiving permission from their supervisors.
Melo told deputies after he crashed that “he didn’t want to flee, but did so because his friends on the other motorcycles did so,” Linhardt said.
Deputies also noted that none of the motorcycles had proper tags.
