NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Portsmouth man died early Wednesday morning after being thrown from his motorcycle near the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel during a trooper chase.
Around 1:32 a.m., a Virginia State Trooper was monitoring traffic on I-664 near the MMMBT in Suffolk when a 2006 Honda CBR600 motorcycle came through radar at 89 mph in the posted 60 mph zone.
The trooper initiated a traffic stop, and the motorcycle pulled off on the shoulder on the bridge. As the trooper was getting out of his vehicle and approaching the motorcyclist, the motorcycle sped away, continuing northbound on the MMMBT toward Newport News, leading to a pursuit.
As the motorcyclist got off I-664 at Terminal Avenue, he lost control, ran off the ramp, hit the Jersey wall and was thrown from the bike.
The motorcyclist, identified as 28-year-old Andrew S. Baker of Portsmouth, was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
State Police say Baker was wearing a helmet during the incident.
The crash is still under investigation.
