High-speed chase involves motorcyclist

On Tuesday, April 16, at around 5:30 p.m., an officer with the Prairie du Chien Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Victory motorcycle near the Prairie du Chien Airport on Highway 18/35.

The motorcycle was registered to Ryan Rogers, 22, of Darlington. A license check showed that Rogers did not have a motorcycle endorsement or permit to be operating a motorcycle, a news release from the police department said. 

Initially, Rogers pulled the motorcycle to the right side of the road, but then accelerated quickly southbound on Highway 35. Officers initiated a pursuit with the motorcycle and a second police officer joined the pursuit. 

The Rogers motorcycle was traveling with a group of other motorcyclists and they identified Rogers as the operator of the fleeing motorcycle, according to the police department. 

Officers pursued Rogers for approximately three miles and speeds reached over 100 mph. Law enforcement terminated the pursuit based on the operator’s reckless driving, the speed of the pursuit, the jurisdictional change and the registered owner being known by officers.

Later in the evening, the LaFayette County Sheriff’s Department arrested Rogers and he admitted to being the operator of the fleeing motorcycle. His motorcycle was impounded by the LaFayette County Sheriff’s Department, and he was transferred into the custody of the Prairie du Chien Police Department, where he was booked into the Crawford County Jail for knowingly flee an officer.