Dirt bike rider pops a wheelie, then wipes out in front of Allentown police cruiser

Allentown dirt bike crash

A man on a stolen dirt bike is seen right before he popped a wheelie on June 23, 2019, and crashed into a nearby fence on East Tilghman Street in Allentown. Police are looking for the driver.Photo courtesy Jeni Betancourt

A dirt bike rider “taunting” an Allentown police officer wiped out just as another police cruiser arrived Sunday afternoon, and a city woman got the crash on video.

Police said they were called at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday for the bike riders, who had T-shirts covering parts of their faces.

Jeni Betancourt said she was sitting in her backyard, where she can usually hear dirt bikes and ATVs racing on Hanover Street, which is about a block away.

Sunday afternoon, though, three bike riders ducked into the alley behind Betancourt’s house, and then onto East Tilghman Street, she said.

Betancourt said the rider on the green bike dropped his bike and took off on foot. In the video below, you can see an Allentown officer standing near the bike.

The rider of the blue and white bike then started driving past, Betancourt said. She said he made five or six passes by the officer, and was taunting him, pulling stunts and flipping the middle finger.

The last pass, though, would turn out to be his last on the bike.

The rider popped a wheelie just as another police cruiser pulls up, Betancourt said. The driver tried to pass the cruiser on the right, but hit a chainlink fence and flipped over the handlebars, she said.

Betancourt and police said he did not actually hit the cruiser.

“He took off running, too,” she said. “It happened so quick.”

Betancourt said she was told both bikes were reported stolen.

There has been an uptick lately of people riding unlicensed two-, three- and four-wheel vehicles, Allentown police Capt. Bill Lake said. Police are looking for the two drivers from Sunday’s incident.

Betancourt said the illegal vehicles on the roads have gotten worse over the years, and as the weather gets warmer more of the drivers come out on the stretch of Hanover Avenue by her house.

“They just fly down the road,” she said, adding they also weave into traffic.

Betancourt thought the crash was funny, and posted it to Facebook Sunday afternoon. By Monday, the video was viral, going from 15,000 views, to 50,000 views, to 88,000 views by Monday night.

She said most of the comments were “people thanking the APD for trying their best to catch these guys.”

“They’re actually doing something to try and stop these kids,” Betancourt said of the city police officers.

Allentown dirt bikes

Dirt bikes that riders abandoned after being confronted by Allentown police. City police are looking for the drivers.Photo courtesy Jeni Betancourt

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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