PA Man Driving On Stolen Motorcycle Killed In Pottsville Trying To “Thread Needle” Between Dump Trucks

POTTSVILLE, PA. (THECOUNT) – Rafael Mateo, of Hazleton, PA, has been identified as the man killed when the stolen motorcycle he was operating crashed into a truck at a high rate of speed on Route 61 in New Castle Township.

Mateo, 29, was fleeing police on a 2007 Suzuki GSXR750 at a high rate of speed when he crashed while trying to thread the needle between a Walmart semi-truck and a pair of dump trucks.

State police said the crash occurred around 7:45 a.m. in the southbound lanes of the highway, about 410 feet north of Darkwater Lane.

Mateo attempted to travel between a dump truck and a tractor trailer when he made contact with one of the trucks and went down.

Troopers said the motorcycle continued to tumble south and hit the left rear of another tri-axle truck before coming to a rest across both southbound lanes.

Sanchez said Mateo was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. source

He was pronounced dead at the scene.