Lisa Marchesoni
Posted: Friday, April 17, 2009 3:57 pm

One suspected drunk motorcyclist driving 163 mph with a passenger was stopped and charged with felonies after a “Bike Night” saturation, a state trooper supervisor said.

State Trooper Michael Marvin charged Scott Dwight Jones Jr., 27, of 4693 Seminary Drive in Smyrna with DUI, felony evading arrest and felony reckless endangerment of his passenger, said Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Rick Smith.

Smith cited him for speeding at 163 mph in a 70 mph zone and failing to have insurance.

“We’re very concerned about the mixture of (speed and) alcohol,” Smith said. “We probably prevented a really bad accident.”

Jones’ arrest was part of a saturation of seven state troopers during “Bike Night.”

About 90 percent of the sports motorcycle operates are law abiding but the 10 percent earn a public outcry about their speeds, he said.

Besides Jones’ arrest, troopers wrote 109 citations with 43 speeding citations and 27 or more than half without insurance.

“That should be of growing concern,” Smith said. “Our biggest nightmare is chasing a bike and a bike slam into a third party.”

A THP helicopter boosted troopers on the ground.

Trooper Justin Boyd stopped a motorcyclist driving 105 mph. The motorcyclist told Boyd he started not to stop. Boyd told him a helicopter was monitoring the motorcyclists just a moment before the pilot shone a light to check on him.

Besides the traffic violations, troopers inspected three commercial trucks and changed one flat tire for a woman.

“At a time when most law enforcement agencies are micromanaging, the THP encourages independent thinking that makes our operation so successful,” Smith said.