Retired Denver Police Lt. Jim Leo talks with a chuckle in his voice, even when he's in severe pain.

And he's been in a lot of pain since Aug. 4. While riding his motorcycle to the 67th annual Sturgis, S.D., motorcycle rally, he was run off the road by an 18-year-old fugitive driving a stolen car, a Wyoming state trooper said.

"I can't remember much of what happened except he came right at me - and then my training kicked in, and I went into the ditch. And that's all I remember," the 64-year-old said from his room at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver.

Burly and sporting a handlebar mustache, Leo was a cop for 33 years before retiring. He and a group of law enforcement friends have been regulars at the Sturgis event for years.

The incident began on a Saturday when Timothy Arnold, of Torrington, Wyo., allegedly stole a 1997 white Ford Taurus and fled from a community corrections facility outside Casper, said Wyoming Trooper Livingston, who refused to give his first name.

As Leo and nine friends rode north on U.S. 85, Arnold drove south on the same road, Livingston said. The car crossed the two-lane highway and headed for the group.

"At first my dad thought maybe the guy was sleeping, so they were honking their horns," said Leo's son, James.

His father swerved to avoid a collision.

"For a moment, he thought he got away. Then his tire hit something, and he went over the front of his bike at 65 miles an hour," James Leo said.

The force nearly severed Leo's leg at the knee.

Denver Police Lt. Jimmy Martinez managed to turn around and chase the white car at speeds of up to 120 mph, James Leo said. Martinez also contacted Wyoming authorities.

The chase ended about 30 miles away when the car swerved off a bridge to avoid tire-puncturing strips set up by authorities.

James Leo, like his father, gives a little chuckle when he talks about what happened next.

Both Leo and the suspect were taken to a Torrington hospital. "They ended up putting him (Arnold) in the hospital bed next to my dad," James Leo said.

Once Leo was stabilized, he was flown to Denver several days later so surgeons could attempt to save his leg.

"Yesterday they put in plates to put his bones back together," James Leo said.

Arnold made his first appearance in court Friday. He faces four felony charges, including vehicle theft, assault on a peace officer during the chase and aggravated battery and assault, plus 25 misdemeanors, Livingston said.

lehndorffb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2792