Motorcyclist Injured on Collision with Lawnmower

A motorcyclist was injured late Sunday night when his bike struck a lawnmower that fell from the back of a stolen truck during a police chase.
Authorities were chasing a Ford Ranger in the northbound lanes of Interstate 27 around midnight. The truck had been reported stolen and a Randall County sheriff's deputy gave chase, department spokesman Danny Alexander said.

Numerous lawnmowers were in back of the truck at the time, and deputies called off the chase when high speeds became too dangerous, Alexander said.

"He started swerving his pickup truck to get (the lawnmower) to come loose," Alexander said, adding that it missed the deputy.

One of the mowers became dislodged during the chase near the 26th Avenue overpass and fell into the path of the oncoming motorcycle, Amarillo police spokesman Cpl. Jerry Neufeld said.

The truck was spotted minutes later when it crashed into a home in the 300 block of East 32nd Avenue. The driver ditched the vehicle and has not been found, Alexander said.

The motorcyclist's injuries and condition were not immediately known Monday, nor was it clear if anyone was arrested.