Motorcycle Ride Ends in Tragedy for Brothers

Police Radar Shows Speeds of Up to 100 MPH Before Crashes Off an Exit Ramp in Baltimore

The Heureaux brothers were riding motorcycles, heading north on Interstate 95 near Laurel, when at speeds of nearly 100 mph they raced by a state police trooper armed with a radar gun.

The trooper pulled his car out and turned on his lights, a state police spokesman said yesterday, describing the events of Sunday. About 16 miles later, Suky Amin Heureaux, 25, and Suky Shamin Heureaux, 24, died in nearly simultaneous crashes on an exit ramp in Baltimore.

Today, in Prince George's County, a wake will be held for the brothers, one of whom was riding a stolen bike, police said. The service will be attended by family and friends from the Washington area's Dominican community, some of whom wonder whether the trooper chased the brothers, a contention police deny.

"They tell me they were racing, that's all they tell me," Maximo Heureaux, 45, who shared his home in Landover with his sons, said of his limited contact with investigators. "I don't believe the police; nobody here believes the police. We all need to know what really happened."

Sgt. Arthur Betts, a police spokesman, denied that there was a chase and said the trooper, James Davis, appears to have followed state police policies.

"This all could have been prevented if they had stopped," Betts said of the brothers. "The trooper didn't do anything to make them crash their motorcycles."

Police declined to released the agency's pursuit policy yesterday, saying the agency must receive a mailed written request before doing so. Betts, however, said that unlike in many area jurisdictions that only allow police to pursue felony suspects, Maryland state troopers are allowed to chase traffic violators.

The issue has special resonance in the Maryland suburbs. Last year, a Prince George's County police officer's pursuit of a motorcyclist on the Capital Beltway led to a fatal seven-car pileup; the officer has been indicted on two counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Betts said Davis clocked three bikers traveling north at about 100 mph near the exit to Maryland Route 32. Betts said Davis pulled his car onto the highway, two bikers pulled over, and what he thought was one biker -- it turned out to be two -- kept going.

Davis did not stop to write a ticket. Davis tried to "catch up" with the remaining biker but did not chase him, Betts said. Davis did not request permission to initiate a high-speed pursuit, which would have required a supervisor's approval, Betts said.

Betts declined to release Davis's maximum speed. He said Davis only lost sight of the biker at the entrance to the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel on Interstate 895 in Baltimore, shortly before the crashes Sunday.

With the brothers that day was Pedro Gervacio, 31, who was the lead rider as the three neared Route 32. Gervacio said a fourth motorcycle had been with the group, but he was not sure if the rider was with the group when they passed the police car.