Police chased a motorcyclist through three towns on Columbus Day, and once they caught him they charged him with 19 vehicle and traffic law violations.
The chase started shortly before noon when a Town of Cornwall Police Officer spotted a motorcycle traveling 85 miles an hour on Route 9W South.
The officer activated his siren and emergency lights as he caught up to the speeder, but the motorcyclist refused to pull over. Instead, he accelerated and turned onto Firefighters Memorial Drive in the Town of Highlands, where he nearly struck several vehicles.
Once off the highway, the operator (Nicholas DePalma, age 20 of Newburgh) quickly reversed directions. He got onto Northbound 9W and sped back to Cornwall, exiting at Continental Avenue.
Still traveling at a high rate of speed, Mr. DePalma tore around Chadeayne Circle and turned onto Quaker Avenue, which he followed to the bottom of the hill.
At the light, he turned north — passing several cars that were stuck in traffic. He struck the mirror of one car and sideswiped the front of a police car.
The chase ended at the Five Corners, where Mr. DePalma lost control of his motorcycle and hit a curb. He attempted to escape on foot, but the Cornwall and New Windsor Police Officers quickly caught him.
The 20-year-old was charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and 19 infractions of the vehicle and traffic law.
He was arraigned before Judge Frank Navarra, and remanded to Orange County Jail, with bail was set at $1,500.
