Police in York Region say officers arrested a man from Richmond Hill, Ont., after a motorcycle was spotted on Toronto-area roads and highways travelling at speeds of almost 300 kilometres per hour.
Officers were on patrol near Bloomington Road and Highway 404 in Aurora at 10:30 a.m. when they first spotted the bike travelling at high speeds northbound on the 400-series highway.
A police chopper was in the area and began to follow the black Yamaha motorcycle, according to a release from York Regional Police.
They also shared a video capturing some of the pursuit and the arrest with commentary from the helicopter pilot, who at one point declares: “He’s flying.”
The video also shows the motorcycle driving in and out of traffic and cutting in front of a transport truck to get onto a ramp onto Highway 401.
“Continuing with the dangerous driving, just split between a bus and a car and blowing another red light,” the pilot says in the video.
“Last-second squeezes around a transport to go westbound 401; was at an exit off highway onto highway.”
The chopper followed the vehicle for some time until it stopped at a gas station on Elgin Mills Road, where the driver added some fuel and fled without paying before officers could arrive.
The driver then got back onto the highway and headed southbound before he exited the highway onto Highway 407, where police say officers saw him lane splitting, weaving through traffic and reaching speeds in excess of 200 km/h.
Police say the driver ended his journey at a business on Avebury Road in Mississauga, “where he attempted to evade officers by entering the building’s underground via a man-door, with the aid of an accomplice.”
Officers found the bike inside the building and say it had fake licence plates on it.
Police say he fled the scene in a rideshare vehicle but was busted when officers met him at his home as the rideshare arrived.
A 37-year-old man from Richmond Hill is facing a number of charges, including dangerous operation, theft under $5,000, stunt driving, theft under $5,000, using a plate not authorized for a vehicle, speeding and driving with no insurance.