photo by: Lawrence Police Department

Lawrence Police are looking for this man after a high-speed pursuit on Interstate-70.

The Lawrence Police Department and other area law enforcement agencies are searching a rural area around Interstate 70 near the exit to Eudora for a suspect who they say led officers on a high-speed chase Sunday afternoon.

According to a news release Monday from Lawrence Police Department spokeswoman Laura McCabe, the incident started about 3 p.m. Sunday when officers were called to a car wash in the 1000 block of North Third Street to investigate reports of a man sleeping in a running vehicle. Officers located the man, then called for medical assistance when they saw that he was breathing but did not respond.

McCabe said the man eventually woke up and refused to cooperate with officers before accelerating from the scene, nearly hitting one of the officers. The man then took the eastbound I-70 ramp just north of the car wash and led officers on a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper helped bring the chase to an end by placing a spike strip in the path of the fleeing vehicle. However, the driver drove two more miles on rims before crashing into an interior barrier wall at mile marker 213. The driver then fled the vehicle, seeking cover in brush and woods south of I-70, McCabe said.

McCabe said the suspect’s vehicle was reported stolen from Overland Park. A search of the vehicle found marijuana packed for sale, various pills, heroin, a handgun, ammunition and an extended magazine, she said.

The search was ongoing Monday with police dogs, a drone and aerial support from the Kansas Highway Patrol, McCabe said. The Lawrence Police Department released a screenshot of the man taken from an officer’s body camera. McCabe said the man is possibly wanted for a parole violation in Illinois.

Anyone seeing the suspect or who has any additional information is asked to call 911.