The first thing a Peoria County sheriff’s deputy’s dash camera shows on the evening of Aug. 6, 2025, is a gas station.
It sits on the left side of the frame, canopy and pumps and all, while a motorcycle rolls along the road ahead of the patrol car. The camera’s clock reads a couple of minutes past 8 p.m.
About a minute later, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office, that stolen motorcycle ran out of gas.
How it started
The sheriff’s office said deputies noticed the bike on Harmon Highway because it had no registration and tried to pull it over. The rider kept going.
“Unfortunately for him, the stolen motorcycle ran out of gas while attempting to flee from our deputy,” the office wrote in a Facebook post the next day. It attached the dashcam footage and a facepalm emoji.
What the dashcam shows
Once the gas station slides out of view, the motorcycle leads the deputy past houses and small businesses, then onto a wider divided road lined with guardrails and trees. A blue Interstate 474 sign goes by on the right. Traffic is light. For most of the clip the bike is a small red taillight in the middle of the lane, well ahead of the cruiser.
Then, as the road opens into a signalized intersection, the motorcycle loses speed. It doesn’t pull to the curb. It just slows, rider still aboard, until it is barely moving. The deputy gets out and runs after it, and closes the gap on foot within seconds.
In the next frames the rider is off the bike and on the pavement, the motorcycle is on its side next to him, and the deputy is bringing his hands behind his back. The traffic signals overhead are red.
Between the frame with the gas station and the frame with the rider on the ground, the dashcam clock moves about one minute.
The charges
The sheriff’s office identified the rider as Donald Shaw. According to the agency, he was arrested on felony warrants and for fleeing and eluding, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Those are allegations. The Auto Wire could not find a public record of how the case was resolved. Under the Illinois Vehicle Code, a conviction for possessing a stolen vehicle is a Class 2 felony.
A pursuit without the usual equipment
Plenty of runs from police end far worse. A North Carolina rider reached 180 mph before his bike caught fire, and a single 2017 Chicago pursuit could end up costing taxpayers $27 million. The gear built to end chases early, like the Grappler bumper net, is still rare in police fleets.
This deputy didn’t need spike strips, a PIT maneuver or a helicopter. He needed about a minute and a short run. The motorcycle had already driven past the one thing that could have kept it going.
Have you ever run a tank closer to empty than you meant to? How far did you actually make it?