A motorcyclist was killed late last night in a crash after West Des Moines police say he sped away from a pursuing officer. A patrol officer spotted the motorcycle around 11 p.m. and noticed it matched the description of one reported stolen. The officer followed the motorcycle to try and read the license plate, but the motorcycle sped away before crashing nearly head-on into an SUV.
The driver, 28-year-old Trent Bennett of Des Moines, was thrown from the motorcycle and later pronounced dead at a hospital. No one in the SUV was injured. Police arrested the driver of the SUV, 30-year-old Thomas Holland of West Des Moines, for OWI.