A 19-year-old man who tried to evade police on a dirt bike died Saturday afternoon after he lost control of the motorcycle and crashed into a telephone pole in northeast Spokane.

The pursuit, which lasted about a minute, began along Upriver Drive near the Minnehaha Rocks climbing area, said deputy police chief Chuck Bown.

While being chased by a Spokane Police patrol officer, the westbound motorcyclist passed a car in the 4800 block of E. Frederick Avenue, then veered onto the gravel shoulder of the two-lane street and went through a grassy drainage ditch before striking the wooden pole, police said.

The accident happened at about 4:20 p.m. The motorcyclist was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead at 5:37 p.m.

Police would not identify either the motorcyclist or the officer involved in the pursuit on Saturday. The officer was driving a marked patrol car, police said.

Police would not say how fast the motorcyclist or the pursuing officer were going prior to the crash.

The motorist who had been passed by the motorcyclist stopped and helped the officer try to resuscitate the injured man until ambulances arrived, Bown said.

The accident was being investigated by Spokane police and the Washington State Patrol.

, DataTimes