Motorcyclist charged with driving 115 mph over speed limit

A 27-year-old McHenry man is facing nearly a dozen criminal and traffic charges after police said he decided to blow off some steam by hopping aboard his motorcycle and driving it 140 mph down a residential street with cocaine, instead of a driver's license, in his pocket.

Andrew E. Seekings, of the 700 block of Emerald Drive, is charged with possession of a controlled substance, reckless driving, driving on a revoked license, driving an uninsured motor vehicle, two counts of speeding and five other traffic offenses after the high-speed drive early Thursday evening through parts of his hometown.

"It was extremely dangerous," McHenry Deputy Police Chief John Jones said Monday. "There were people out at that time, and there are no sidewalks in that area, so people walk on the side of the road. He could have hurt someone easily."

It began about 6:41 p.m. Thursday when a patrol officer using radar to check for speeders near the 1700 block of North Oak Drive clocked Seekings driving 65 mph in a 20 mph zone aboard his 2006 Yamaha motorcycle, court documents state.

The officer began following but could not keep up - nor did he try - as the cycle turned west on Prairie Avenue and began traveling even faster, Jones said. Seekings, however, stopped on his own and was seen throwing something out of his pocket as the officer pulled up to him.

That something, Jones said, turned out to be a bag containing cocaine.

When approached by the officer, police said, Seekings admitted he had been traveling 140 mph down Prairie, which is a 25 mph zone. He said he was not aware police had been following him.

"He said he had been in an argument with his girlfriend and was upset," Jones said. "This wasn't a chase situation. He was just out for a ride."

Besides driving on a license that had been revoked at least three years ago, according to court records, Seekings did not have a license to drive a motorcycle, Jones said.

Seekings, who is free after posting $1,500 bond, could face up to three years in prison if convicted of the felony drug charge. The other charges for now are filed as traffic offenses, but county prosecutors could later upgrade at least some of them to felonies or misdemeanors.