this one's gonna hurt, 188mph in Omaha

[RACER X]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090806/NEWS01/708069818

Published Thursday August 6, 2009

188 mph doesn't escape ticket
By Joel Fulton
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
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He had the need, apparently. The need for speed.

The motorcyclist reached 188 mph while racing away from Iowa State Patrol troopers who tried to stop him for speeding.

“He just thought he could get away, so he tried it,” said Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Bryan Michelsen. “Had he known we had a plane overhead, he would have stopped.”

James Foldenauer, 36, of Council Bluffs, apparently didn't know his motorcycle was being tracked from the air. The 2003 Suzuki 1300 Hayabusa shot past other vehicles on Interstate 29 south of Missouri Valley. To pass cars, the cyclist rode onto both shoulders of the road and even drove between vehicles.





Among the fastest speeders

** 188 mph: Motorcyclist on Interstate 29 between Missouri Valley and Council Bluffs on Wednesday; tracked by plane to a home in Omaha.


** 151 mph: Motorcyclist ticketed in May 2007 on the West Dodge Expressway between 156th and 180th Streets.


** 132 mph: Colorado motorcyclist stopped in July 2008 on I-80 near the Seward exchange.


** 106 mph: Intoxicated driver stopped in a 60-mph zone in March 2009 on Nebraska Highway 36 near North 108th Street.

- World-Herald researcher Jeanne Hauser



While navigating among cars, the cyclist slowed — to about 150 mph, then to 130 mph as he took the 25th Street exit into Council Bluffs, Michelsen said.

“I thought he was going to have a bad crash he wasn't going to walk away from,” Michelsen said.

Michelsen was all alone pursuing the cycle on the ground in his Ford Crown Victoria, but he said he didn't come close to the cycle's speeds. The trooper said he reached only 70 mph, relying instead on the plane to keep up with the motorcycle.

The chase, which began about 6:30 p.m., might be the fastest pursuit in Iowa history, Michelsen said. Michelsen recalled chasing a car that reached 168 mph, but that one got away.

The Wednesday night chase was the fastest in Iowa in the last year, which is as far back as records from the Professional Standards Bureau date, according to a spokeswoman from the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Michelsen first spotted the cycle in a 55-mph construction zone near Missouri Valley and clocked it at 89 mph. Michelsen flipped on his lights, and the motorcyclist looked over his shoulder and took off.

Luckily, the patrol's Cessna 182 already was in the air.

Pilot Scott Pigsley tracked the cycle from overhead, allowing Michelsen to back off on the ground for the safety of the public.

The rocketing cycle presented a tremendous risk to other motorists, Pigsley said.

“He was going at that speed through construction and splitting traffic on the center line,” Pigsley said. “There was potential for creating accidents by scaring people. The chance of causing a chain reaction of accidents was extremely high.”

Pigsley kept Michelsen informed of the cycle's movements, and his Crown Vic nearly caught up with the cycle in Council Bluffs. Michelsen was about eight blocks behind the cycle on 25th Street, when it turned and raced through a red light, before turning onto Broadway. The cycle fled into Omaha on Interstate 480.

Pigsley tracked the motorcyclist from I-480 to westbound Interstate 80 and onto the 60th Street exit.

The cyclist parked his bike in a garage at 59th Street and Fay Boulevard, near 60th and Q Streets.

Pigsley directed the Omaha police to the house, where Foldenauer was found inside.

The cyclist agreed to allow a friend to drive him back to Council Bluffs to be arrested. Foldenauer was cited on suspicion of multiple charges of improper passing, stop sign violations, eluding law enforcement and reckless driving.

Foldenauer paid $1,234.50 this morning to be released from jail.

Before the Wednesday pursuit, Foldenauer had a valid license. He had four previous speeding violations on his record since 2000, according to court records. He was not intoxicated, Michelsen said.

“He faces a long suspension,” Michelsen said.