Traffic was “fairly heavy for that time in the morning,” Bezotte said. During the chase, several semitrucks were forced to move off the road to avoid collision, he said.

Stamm slowed to 100 mph after police caught up with him and turned on their lights but sped up again, the sheriff said.

Officers called several departments to assist, Bezotte said. When a Fowlerville police car pulled onto the expressway, Stamm was unable to avoid the car and crashed, Bezotte said. No officers were injured, but the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

The Fowlerville police car — valued at $25,000 — was totalled in the crash, Bezotte said. The officer involved in the crash was “emotionally distraught” and was put on administrative leave, he said.

“It’s not easy when you see something like that happen,” he said.
Stamm worked at Kellogg Center in the Banquet Department while he was taking classes, Kellogg Center General Manager Joel Heberlein said.

Stamm studied kinesiology at Lansing Community College, or LCC, before the accident, said Rashid Robinson, director of academic and institutional policy at LCC.

It is unknown why Stamm chose to flee and not pull over, Bezotte said. Although the autopsy and toxicology reports have not been released, it is not believed that alcohol was a factor in the crash, Bezotte said.

Although Stamm received a ticket for speeding in 2009, his driving record otherwise was clean, Bezotte said.

He was wearing a helmet during the crash and had a motorcycle license.

If Stamm pulled over, the maximum penalty would have been four points on his license and a $250 fine, Bezotte said.

Driving at high speeds, Stamm was a danger to himself and other drivers, Bezotte said.

“When you do this, hopefully you get the motorcycle to stop,” he said. “It’s nobody’s intention for anybody to get hurt.”