Police ID Motorcyclist Killed During High-Speed Chase In South Austin

NORTH AUSTIN, TX -- Police have identified a motorcyclist who died last month as a result of a high-speed chase that resulted when he evaded a traffic stop.

Samuel Wakeman, 28, was killed Feb. 26 when he crashed into the back of a car while trying to elude law enforcement for speeding along FM 620.

A preliminary investigation shows that the motorcyclist was traveling at a high rates of speed traveling northbound near Steiner Ranch Boulevard, police said. A Travis County constable in a marked patrol unit activated his lights and pursued Wakeman, who was traveling in a black and red Suzuki motorcycle.

“The driver of the motorcycle refused to stop and accelerated to a higher speed,” police say, “turning eastbound, but soon lost sight of the motorcyclist and thought he had turned off on a side road.”

Police say that’s when the constable turned off his lights and siren while continuing eastbound. It was then when the constable saw the aftermath of that high-speed chase: The motorcyclist had crashed into the back of a 2004 gray Mercedes-Benz, and Wakeman was dead at the scene.

Time of death: 10:03 a.m.

The high rate of acceleration of the motorcycle coupled with stopped traffic resulting from another serious crash combined for a deadly mix.

“The traffic eastbound in the 10100 block of FM 2222 had come to a stop due to a serious crash that occurred earlier that evening near 2222 and Jester Boulevard,” police explained.

The occupants of the Mercedes were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening. Police later determined that Wakeman didn’t have a driver’s license and his state-issued identification card had been suspended for multiple previous violations.