A Hope man died in a motorcycle crash Monday night and police believe he may have been involved in a police chase earlier that evening.

Judy Jackson, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, says that at approximately 11:43 p.m., Deputy Dane Duke was in the area of Sunland Road when he came across a single tire track running off the roadway. When he investigated, he reportedly found the body of 18-year-old Xavier Maurice Scrogham.

Jackson says that a preliminary investigation indicates that Scrogham’s motorcycle was headed east on Sunland Road. As he entered a 90-degree left turn, Scrogham’s motorcycle went off the east side of the road, where it traveled across a grassy area before striking a telephone pole guide wire. Police say that Scrogham was thrown from the motorcycle and came to a rest on the grassy area while his motorcycle continued into a soybean field. Scrogham was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, said Jackson.

Investigators say that they believe this was the motorcycle that was involved in an earlier pursuit with Nashville Police. At approximately 11:36 pm, Emergency Operations Dispatch advised the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department and Columbus Police that a Nashville Reserve Police Officer was chasing a motorcycle south on US 31 from 10th Street in Columbus, before turning east on Base Road. According to authorities, the pursuit was headed north on County Road 650 East when the reserve officer lost sight of the motorcycle on 25th Street.

Authorities say that the investigation is ongoing.