Man on stolen motorcycle dies after crashing into tree in Mountain View

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- A man driving an unreported stolen motorcycle died after the motorcycle hit a tree in Mountain View early Saturday morning, a police spokeswoman said.

Officers responded to a report of two people tampering with cars in the 200 block of Dana Street around 1:30 a.m., according to Mountain View police spokeswoman Katie Nelson.

One of the officers saw a motorcycle leaving northbound Moorpark Way, turned on his red lights and tried to stop the motorcycle. The motorcyclist accelerated to around 70 mph and drove away, Nelson said.

Following the department's pursuit policy, the officer terminated the attempted traffic stop and turned off his lights and siren, according to Nelson.

The officer saw sparks in the road from the area where the motorcyclist was last seen. He drove to the area and saw the motorcycle had crashed into a tree, Nelson said. The rider was lying about 40 feet from the motorcycle.

Several other officers arrived and began doing CPR on the rider, according to Nelson. The rider was taken to Stanford University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

During an investigation following the crash, police learned the motorcycle was an unreported stolen motorcycle from a home on the 100 block of Calderon Avenue, Nelson said.