BAY CITY, MI -- A 47-year-old Bay City man is dead after leading Michigan State Police troopers on a brief chase in the South End, according to police.

About 9:47 p.m. Sunday, July 5, troopers driving through Bay City's South End on a grant-funded drunken driving crackdown spotted a suspected impaired driver on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, said 1st Lt. David Simon, commander of the state police's Tri-City Post. The motorcycle, driven by Christopher J. Henry, was traveling north on Broadway near McGraw, at a high rate of speed and swerving, Simon said.

"When he made his initial turn, (troopers) had to swerve to avoid him," Simon said.

After Henry turned east onto Lafayette, troopers activated their car's lights and sirens and tried to initiate a stop.

"He accelerated away from them right away," the lieutenant said. "He continued to Madison, where he took the curve a little bit wide."

The motorcycle struck the curb on the south side of King's Party Store's parking lot at 1029 S. Madison Ave. Henry then struck a cable attached to a utility pole and continued on to hit a tree just beyond it, Simon said.

"The motorcycle continued down the road almost two blocks, another 400 feet, and came to rest," Simon said.

The collision resulted in Henry being "cut in half at the waist," Simon said.

"I've seen some nasty crashes, but it's been a while since I've seen one that bad. He hit that pretty hard."

Henry was not wearing a helmet, added Special 1st Lt. David Kaiser.

The crash remains under investigation, with an autopsy scheduled. It could take about a month for investigators to receive toxicology results, Simon said.

Bay City Public Safety officers and Bay County Sheriff's deputies assisted in securing the scene.