LINCOLN — A 38-year-old Lincoln man died Tuesday night when his dirt bike crashed into a vehicle while being pursued by Delaware State Police, spokeswoman Master Cpl. Melissa Jaffe said.

Adam J. Burton was not wearing a helmet when his green Kawasaki Dirt Bike collided with a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse at the intersection of Johnson Road and Marshall Street around 9 p.m., authorities said. He was thrown from the dirt bike after colliding with the left front fender of the Traverse, whose driver was turning left.

In a news release, police said the dirt bike did not have a headlamp and they believed the Traverse driver did not see the dirt bike.
The chase began when a trooper saw the non-street legal dirt bike with no light traveling on Wilkins Road near Sussex Bayhealth Hospital, Cpl. Jaffe said. An attempted traffic stop ensued but the bike operator fled “at an extreme high rate of speed.”

As Mr. Burton continued on he “eluded the trooper and created a significant distance between himself and the trooper,” police said.
Following the crash, Mr. Burton was taken to Sussex Bayhealth Hospital, where he died from injuries.

Police said Mr. Burton did not have a motorcycle endorsement on his driver’s license.

The 49-year-old Milford woman driving the Traverse was wearing a seatbelt and stayed at the scene following the crash. She was taken to the hospital, treated and released.

The roadway was closed for about three hours during the investigation, Cpl. Jaffe said.