Police are continuing to investigate a crash that killed the rider of a dirt bike last week.
According to a statement released by police, the life of 24-year-old Shawn D. Murkey was cut short when he was riding a stolen dirt bike without a helmet or lights, careened into a telephone pole.
Police officials say the bike Murkey rode was reported stolen on August 22nd by a city resident.
According to police Mr. Murkey also had a suspended driver’s license, but even a valid license would not have made riding the dirt bike on the street a legal action.
Through video footage of the area, police say they were able to view Mr. Murkey traveling on the dirt bike in the area of Park Avenue and Sixth Street, Park Avenue and Seventh Street, Park and Eighth between the hours of 1:53 AM and 1:54 AM.
Video footage shows him on 100 Block of Stelle Avenue crashing into the pole at 1:55 AM. The dirt bike being operated by Mr. Murkey is the only vehicle on Stelle Avenue and most of Park Avenue according to the video footage.
This as well as GPS coordinates of every police vehicle in the city, shows that Mr. Murkey was not being pursued by police during his travels, nor were they in the area where he crashed. We did not receive the first 9-1-1 call reporting the crash until 2:04 AM.
Police say after the 9-1-1 call, the GPS confirms police responding to the area of Stelle Avenue and the first officer arrived within one minute, and several units thereafter.
Plainfield Police Director Carl Riley stated, “Irresponsible allegations continue to be made that the police were chasing him, despite a respectful meeting with the family, showing them this camera footage and police vehicle GPS information.”
Plainfield Police will continue to investigate the contributing factor as to why Mr. Murkey crashed as the toxicology reports remain pending.
State law prohibits the operation of dirt bikes on public roads.
Dirt bikes ridden on the city streets of Plainfield are subject to seizure to uphold this law and protect our citizens.
Unfortunately, some offenders have been breaking the law by riding dirt bikes in Plainfield, often disobeying traffic laws and putting all citizens at great risk of injury or death.
This accident represents why these dirt bikes are not considered street legal and why the Plainfield Police will continue to seize them when found to be operating within the city. This unsafe practice must stop before an innocent bystander loses life or limb due to the illegal actions of these offenders.
Our Police Department along with most police departments, do not chase these bikes, as doing so may indeed cause them to ride even more dangerously.
Our best recourse to get these life-threatening bikes off the streets is a seizure, and for that we rely on safety-conscious citizens to let us know where to find the illegal bikes. Call the police if you know where one of these dangerous dirt bikes is being stored”.
To inform us if you believe one of these dangerous vehicles is in your neighborhood, please call (908)753-3360.
Anyone with additional information regarding this crash is urged to contact Detective Michael Auricchio at (908) 753-3055.