A motorcyclist died Thursday morning after he was involved in a crash with a school bus in Lakeland.

The crash happened at 7:11 a.m. near the intersection with Sikes Boulevard and W. Lime Street.

According to the Lakeland Police Department, an officer saw a green Kawasaki motorcycle heading west on Parker Street, passing on a double-yellow line.

The officer caught up with the motorcycle at the intersection at a red light, and as the motorcycle turned south on Massachusetts Avenue, the officer tried to stop the motorcyclist, police said.

Instead, the motorcyclist fled at a high rate of speed, police said. The officer ended his attempts to stop the motorcyclist, police said.

About two minutes later, police received a 911 call about an accident at Sikes Boulevard and W. Lime Street involving a green motorcycle and a Polk County School bus.

Investigators said they later determined the motorcycle was heading south on Sikes Boulvard toward the intersection with W. Lime Street. Police said the intersection is a four-way intersection controlled by a lighted traffic device.

Police said the school bus was attempting to turn left onto the northbound lanes of Sikes Boulevard when it was hit by the motorcycle in the middle of the intersection.

Police said the motorcyclist, identified as Niriel Cordero, 28, of Lakeland, died at the scene of the crash.

The driver of the school bus, Regina Elliott, was not injured. No children were on the bus at the time.

Police said Cordero's license was suspended, and that speed was a factor in the crash.

The investigation continues.