Friend recalls the moments before St. Paul biker died trying to 'ditch the police'

The St. Paul man who died early Monday after crashing a motorcycle in an attempt to flee police was riding a stolen vehicle and had allegedly fled authorities a couple of months ago on a stolen scooter, according to police and court records.
The motorcycle operated by Michael John Hagemann, 38, Monday had been reported stolen between 5 and 8 a.m. Sunday from the 1200 block of Rice Street, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a police spokesman. Court records show that Hagemann lived in the 1300 block of Rice Street.
It's unclear who took the motorcycle.
According to police, Hagemann was "driving recklessly" on westbound Maryland Avenue toward Arkwright Street, and took off when police tried to stop him.
At one point he reached 70 miles per hour in the largely residential Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Police, who did not attempt to match his speed, quickly lost sight of him.
The motorcycle came to rest on a patch of grass outside Bruce Vento Elementary School near Case Avenue E. and Clark Street shortly after 2 a.m., Ernster said. Hagemann, who was not wearing a helmet, was dead at the scene.
Clark Street dead-ends in a T-intersection with Case Avenue, which runs east and west. Shattered glass, motorcycle parts and skid marks in the parking lot and grass suggest that Hagemann had traveled north on Clark, jumped a curb, landed in the parking lot and jumped over a small, bushy hill before crashing.
Hagemann allegedly was involved in a similar incident on April 26, according to court documents. He was charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and had a hearing in the case June 9. He was due back in court Monday afternoon and on July 11.
According to the criminal complaint, an officer on patrol saw Hagemann driving a stolen scooter late at night on Arlington Avenue. The license plate area was covered with yellow tape.
When the officer activated his squad's emergency lights, Hagemann looked back and then sped away, running stop signs and turning into an alley. He eventually abandoned the scooter and was apprehended by a police K-9.
The suspect "wore Hells Outcast sweatpants and told police he was a member of the gang," according to the complaint. Hagemann "said he fled because he had a felony warrant."
Before the crash on Monday, Alyssa Goodman told the Star Tribune, she was in a car on Maryland behind police and Hagemann.
Goodman, 21, said she and Hagemann had been "hanging out, having fun and drinking … and having the time of our lives" earlier in the evening. They were two blocks from their destination, another friend's home, before police became involved.
Goodman said she's not surprised that Hagemann fled police. He didn't care about that, she said.
"He's a biker," Goodman said. "It was more or less a fact; he knew he could ditch the police on a motorcycle. He kind of liked to show off."
Hagemann hadn't had a valid license in Minnesota for either a passenger vehicle or a motorcycle since August 2012, when his privileges were revoked, a state official said.
His motorcycle was one of two driven near each other when police first spotted them moments earlier on Maryland, according to law enforcement dispatch communication captured by www.mnpoliceclips.com/.
Police caught the other motorcyclist, according to the scanner traffic. He was not arrested, Ernster said.
"We are trying to determine whether they knew each other or whether they just happened to be near one another on Maryland at the same time," the sergeant said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482