Williamson County Sheriff’s Office releases dashcam video of motorcycle chase, crash

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (KBSI) – The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office released dashcam video of a police chase and crash of a motorcyclist.

On May 26 around 12:50 a.m. a stationary Williamson County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle was struck at the intersection of Illinois Route 13 (Deyoung Street) and Carbon Street in Marion by a motorcycle fleeing from Herrin Police officers during a police chase.

In the interest of transparency, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office requested the Illinois State Police investigate.

According to a post on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page:

“The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is keenly aware of public comments which in some cases contain misinformation regarding the events of this incident. The public should be aware of the following:

* The pursuit and resulting crash were captured by multiple dash and body worn cameras which provide clarity regarding the events that occurred.
* The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office was not the pursuing agency.
* A stationary Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Patrol car was struck by the fleeing motorcycle at the intersection of Deyoung and Carbon Streets. The patrol vehicle was stationary, with all emergency lighting activated, well before the motorcycle approached the intersection.
* The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle did not ram, move forward, reverse, or attempt to collide, or impede the motorcycles eastbound travel.
* No tire deflation devices (Spikes/Stop Sticks) were deployed; and none should have been deployed against a vehicle with only two wheels.
* The motorcycle had a clear unobstructed pathway (2 lanes) to continue eastbound on Deyoung Street without impediment.
* The dash camera video of the lead patrol vehicle in the pursuit shows that the motorcycle departed his lane of travel well before the intersection, crossed a traffic lane to the north, and aimed directly at the stationary Williamson County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle.
* The dash camera video of the lead patrol vehicle in the pursuit shows that as the motorcycle approached the traffic crash intersection it was traveling at speeds of nearly 100mph.
* The dash camera video shows that a few seconds prior to impact the motorcycle begins to veer right but fails to miss the front push bumper of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle by inches, resulting in the traffic crash.
* The stationary Williamson County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle that was struck by the fleeing motorcycle, along with numerous other patrol vehicles along its path of travel, had taken positions at major intersections to protect innocent members of the motoring public from crossing into the path of the fleeing vehicle.”