JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

Spencer Duncan (right) is questioned by the Virginia State Police after crashing the motorcycle he'd had for two days. He suffered minor injuries.

Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Spencer Duncan is questioned by the Virginia State Police as his crashed motorcycle is secured on a tow truck at left.

ELLISTON -- Spencer Duncan leaned against the edge of the bridge wearing handcuffs and cut-off jeans.

"Awesome," he said.

Duncan, a 20-year-old Roanoke County man, had just led a half-dozen state troopers on an 18-mile chase at more than 150 mph before losing control of his motorcycle on a bridge near Elliston-Lafayette Elementary School.

Duncan told police he was traveling at 145 mph when he wrecked.

The chase began in Salem, when Trooper Doug Hubert noticed a motorcycle -- a black, 2004 1,200cc Suzuki -- with its West Virginia license plate improperly displayed. The tag was bent under the bike's back fender.

"That's a common practice for someone who wants to elude police," Hubert said.

Hubert turned to follow the bike as it approached Fort Lewis Elementary School.

"As he came up to the school zone, he opened up to over 100 mph," Hubert said.

Hubert followed, heading west on U.S. 460 through Glenvar. Hubert's cruiser topped out at 127 mph. Duncan's bike did not. Hubert called for help.

Trooper Gary Chafin had just finished a traffic stop across the Montgomery County line.

"I pulled out in front of him, and he didn't know what to do," Chafin said.

Chafin said his radar clocked the bike at 120 mph as it sped past.

Chafin said Duncan nearly hit several vehicles as they raced along the Elliston straightaway and into Shawsville.

"My top speed was 154 mph," Chafin said. "I was barely keeping up with him."

At the edge of Shawsville, Duncan cut down Old Town Road, past Shawsville Middle School, then dropped along Alleghany Spring Road and back onto U.S. 460, nearly hitting another car as he headed back toward Salem.

"He was probably trying to get back home and hide," Chafin said. "It's hard to tell what he was thinking."

Duncan made it about five miles before losing control of the bike he'd bought two days before. The bike hit gravel and went down in a curve on the bridge Duncan leaned against after rescue squad members cut his jeans off above the knees and bandaged his road rash. The motorcycle slid more than 200 feet.

Duncan's injuries -- to his wrist and legs -- appeared minor. He rode away in a trooper's cruiser, not an ambulance.

Police said Duncan, who was driving with a suspended license, will be charged with reckless driving in Salem; with reckless driving and felony eluding police in Roanoke County; and with two counts of reckless driving in Montgomery County -- one for traveling at more than 150 mph and one for the accident that ended the chase.

"At 151 miles per hour on a motorcycle, you're not a rider," Chafin said. "You're an organ donor is what you are."

According to his driver's license, Duncan is an organ donor.

Photographer Justin Cook contributed to this report.