photo by: Kim Callahan

A police chase on North Second Street on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, ended in a fiery motorcycle crash.

Updated at 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025

A high-speed chase in North Lawrence on Thursday afternoon ended with a motorcycle on fire, one person being loaded into an ambulance with serious injuries and another person in handcuffs.

A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper was chasing two people on a motorcycle heading south on North Second Street toward downtown Lawrence at high speed and with lights and sirens on, when the motorcycle struck the back of a car and crashed in the 600 block of North Second Street, catching fire, according to several eyewitnesses.

The Highway Patrol’s crash report did not indicate where the chase began.

At the scene, a seriously injured woman was loaded into an ambulance, and police were putting a man in handcuffs. An eyewitness said the woman was still breathing. The man, who did not appear to be as seriously injured — he was seen standing up — was also later taken away in an ambulance. Two motorcycle helmets, one black and one pink, were visible in the street after the crash.

The fire was put out by people from nearby businesses using fire extinguishers, as the motorcycle caught fire again after it appeared to be out, and bystanders expressed fears that it would explode. About 10 emergency vehicles were at the scene, from the Lawrence Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

The Kansas Highway Patrol later identified the riders on the motorcycle, a 2009 Yamaha, as driver Dillon Paul Herken, 26, of Easton, and passenger Brooke Mesa Hislar, 27, of Leavenworth. The crash report indicated that both were wearing helmets, and both were taken to Stormont Vail hospital with suspected serious injuries.

The KHP report confirmed what eyewitnesses had said about the crash: The motorcycle was being pursued by law enforcement southbound on North Second Street, when the motorcycle made a lane change and rear-ended a 2022 Jeep Compass, driven by Marsha Gail Neilson, 70, of Oskaloosa, who was not injured. A passenger in the Jeep, Jonas Collin Lundry, 17, of Independence, Missouri, was likewise uninjured. Both occupants of the Jeep were wearing seat belts, according to the report, which indicated that the motorcycle was not insured.

Michael Cordova, who co-owns a business near the crash scene, said he saw the motorcycle “flying by” at, he guessed, around 90 mph, with a Kansas Highway Patrol vehicle following. He said that the motorcycle changed gears and appeared to accelerate right before it hit the car in front of it.

“Man alive, he was going fast,” Cordova said, noting that a “ball of fire” shot up on impact. “I couldn’t believe what I saw.”

North Second Street was closed from Lincoln Street to Lyon Street as emergency responders worked at the scene. A detour was set up, and traffic going to and from downtown was severely backed up into rush hour.

“Traffic patterns will be significantly interrupted for several hours,” police said around 3:45 p.m., about half an hour after the crash occurred.

photo by: Kim Callahan

A person at the scene of the motorcycle crash on North Second Street uses a fire extinguisher to put out the fire on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A person is loaded into an ambulance after a motorcycle crash on North Second Street on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.

photo by: Junen Worthy Schafer

Emergency crews tend to a person who was injured in a motorcycle crash following a high-speed chase on North Second Street.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The driver of the motorcycle is pictured after a police chase on North Second Street on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The wreckage of a motorcycle following a police chase on Thursday, February 27, 2025.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A man is taken away in an ambulance and handcuffs after a police chase in North Lawrence on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The intersection of Lyon and North Second streets was closed off following a police chase on Thursday, February 27, 2025.

photo by: Kim Callahan

A man sits in handcuffs after a motorcycle chase and crash on North Second Street on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.