Two Lawrence Police Department law officers received nonlife-threatening injuries early Saturday morning when a suspected drunk driver allegedly struck a police vehicle in south Lawrence and led officers on a high-speed, two-county chase.

According to Lawrence Police Department community affairs officer Amy Rhoads, the incident started when two Lawrence Police Department officers were involved in a traffic stop in the 1500 block of 23rd Street at 2:04 a.m. Saturday. During the stop, a Dodge pickup driven by a Nelson L. Higgins, 50, of Lawrence, is alleged to have struck the rear of a parked patrol vehicle occupied by one of the officers. The collision caused considerable damage to the rear of the patrol vehicle, and the officer in the car was treated for injuries at an area hospital and released.

The driver fled the scene west on 23rd Street and then south of Iowa Street with Lawrence Police officers in pursuit, Rhoads said. The chase continued southbound on U.S. Highway 59 “at a high rate of speed,” she said.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Blaine Grossoehme said the chase ended at about 2:20 a.m. when the driver lost control of the pickup on the northbound I-35 on-ramp from U.S. Highway 59. Grossoehme said Lawrence Police Department officers who were in pursuit arrested the uninjured Higgins at the scene.

A second Lawrence police officer suffered minor injuries during the arrest but refused treatment at the scene, Rhoads said.

Douglas County Jail records show Higgins was booked into jail on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, failing to report an accident, reckless driving, the aggravated battery of a law enforcement office with a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding with commission of a felony, failure to stop for an accident with damages of more than $1,000 and interference with a law enforcement officer (felony obstruction/resist/oppose).

-Mike Frizzell of Operation 100 News contributed to this report.