Dirt pile ends a Colorado motorcycle thief's getaway – and his life

A Colorado man paid a heavy price for his crime this week when he crashed the motorcycle he stole during his getaway and died.

He crashed just minutes after he stole it Wednesday afternoon from a Pueblo West dealership, said a statement from the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, which did not identify the Colorado Springs man but gave his age as 44.

According to KKTV in Colorado Springs, the man and a female companion were looking at motorcycles at HyMark Motorsports about 15 minutes before the crash.

An employee asked them if they needed help and they said no, the sheriff's department said in its statement.

When the salesman left to make a phone call he heard the engine firing up and saw the two drive off on a 2016 BMW motorcycle, KKTV reported.

Witnesses said they saw a white motorcycle speeding, according to KOAA in Colorado Springs. Then they saw the motorcycle hit a mount of dirt and crash, KOAA reported.

It didn't take long for deputies to put two and two together — the report of the stolen motorcycle came in while they were at the crash scene, KKTV reported.

The man died from his injuries, reported KOAA. His 47-year-old female passenger, also from Colorado Springs, was flown to a hospital there with life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's department reported.

"I saw a bunch of emergency vehicles down the road about a mile and half," Chuck Galinvaux, who works at the dealership where the motorcycle was stolen, told KRDO in Colorado Springs.

"I could see the bike had gone through a barricaded fence, gone over a dirt berm and I could see bodies laying there in the dirt."

The bike, estimated to be worth $12,000, was totaled, KKTV reported. Neither rider wore a helmet.

This story was originally published May 25, 2018 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Dirt pile ends a Colorado motorcycle thief's getaway – and his life."