Driver Hits Kansas Officer During Pursuit

BIG SPRINGS, Kan. -- A Lawrence police officer was injured Tuesday when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a burglary suspect attempting to elude law enforcement authorities, said Lawrence police Sgt. William Cory.

A woman was taken into custody at 12:18 p.m. after a lengthy police chase that ended in western Douglas County outside of Big Springs.

The officer was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

The incident began at 11:17 a.m. when Lawrence police officers responded to a burglary-in-progress call in the 3100 block of Tomahawk, a Lawrence Police Department news release stated. The officers followed the suspect.

Lawrence police, in a joint effort with the Kansas Highway Patrol and Douglas County Sheriff's Office, pursued and apprehended one person at 12:18 p.m.

US-40 highway from the Shawnee/Douglas County line to east of RS 1373 was closed from shortly after noon to 4:45 p.m. Tuesday while the highway patrol reconstructed the accident scene where the Lawrence officer was struck.

Douglas County sheriff's Deputy Kyle Bulmer spent more than an hour directing traffic off of US-40 highway to Douglas County 1023 for a detour. The Kansas Department of Transportation took over about 1:45 p.m. and set up road closed signs and parked a bright orange truck in the middle of the highway.

The officer's name wasn't released, and no other information about the incident was available.

The Shawnee County Sheriff's Office assisted in the incident.

Republished with permission of The Capital-Journal.