Motorcyclist Chased After Stealing Cigarettes Dies In Crash

A motorcyclist was killed early Thursday while fleeing from law enforcement personnel in a high-speed pursuit that began when he refused to stop for questioning about a commercial robbery attempt, authorities said.
The pursuit began on northbound Highway 67 south of Post Hill around 2 a.m., the California Highway Patrol reported on its Web site. It ended a half- hour later when the 39-year-old man riding a Harley Davidson collided with a CHP vehicle and a Caltrans vehicle near Woodside Avenue.
The motorcyclist, identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office as 39-year-old Noah Sean Comer, is believed to have used a gun to steal a pack of cigarettes from an ampm convenience store located in the 9600 block of Winter Gardens Blvd. in Lakeside.
Surveilance video broadcast on 10News shows a man believed to be Comer stealing the cigarettes.
Shortly after the pursuit began, the rider led law enforcement onto southbound Highway 67, exiting onto westbound Mapleview Street before traveling northbound on Channel Road and then westbound on Industry Road, authorities said.
The pursuit eventually went from Industry Road back onto southbound Highway 67, where the rider entered an area closed for construction near Woodside Avenue, authorities said.
The Harley then collided with a CHP vehicle and a Caltrans vehicle, sparking a fire, authorities said, adding that the rider died at the scene.No CHP or Caltrans personnel were hurt in the pursuit and subsequent crash.