Perilous spikes halt 105-mph motorcycle chase
Staff writer
Marion County deputies joined Newton police July 9 in a motorcycle chase going up to 105 mph.
The chase started in Harvey County and ended near Strong City after stop sticks were rolled across the highway by Chase County deputies.
Stop sticks, which pierce tires and cause them to go flat, are unsafe for vehicles with less than four tires. Police are advised not to use them for motorcycles.
Radio transmissions indicate that pursuing officers asked that spikes not be employed, and that Harvey County squad cars were nearly caught in the process.
“Chase County deputies deployed stop sticks,” Newton’s deputy police chief Scott Powell said. “Even after they did it, they tried to blame Marion County.”
Newton police cars have dash cam footage of the stop sticks being rolled out, Powell said.
Stop Stick, a leading marketer of the tire-deflating device, says in its training manual that its product should never be deployed on a vehicle with fewer than four tires.
“Vehicles such as motorcycles and three-wheeled ATVs are less stable, and persons driving these vehicles are more likely to lose control when their tires deflate,” the training manual says.
Deputy Josh Meliza joined the chase east of Peabody. Starkey was called to help, but by the time he was able to join the chase, the motorcycle had already passed Peabody. Sheriff’s detective Aaron Christner waited at the Florence roundabout for the motorcycle to come through.
The 2025 Kawasaki had no license plate.
Officers tried to pull the motorcycle over in Newton.
“He was in the middle of town driving really fast on this motorcycle at 12:48 a.m.,” Powell said. “He got on US-50 and wouldn’t stop.”
The Marion County portion of the chase began at 1 a.m., Undersheriff Larry Starkey said, and deputies pursued Bruce R. Burkhart, 48, Wichita, to the Chase County line before dropping out.
Powell said the chase progressed at normal highway speeds at some times, but at other times was as fast as 105 mph.
The last 30 miles of the chase, Burkhart’s speed was as low as 30 mph, Powell said.
“He got flat tires,” Powell said.
According to Harvey County sheriff’s Captain Brandon Huntley, Newton police took Burkhart to Harvey County Jail after he was captured.
Powell said Burkhart had drugs on him, but Newton police don’t yet know what the drugs were.
“We sent it to KBI for testing,” he said.