Police Track Down Getaway Vehicle, Still Looking For Robbery Suspects
UNION TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Police have found the getaway vehicle and money, but continue to search for two suspects in a Tuesday afternoon bank robbery in Washington County.
The robbery happened just before 4 p.m. at the Huntington Bank on Route 88 in Finleyville. Police could later be seen dusting for prints on the front door of the bank and looking for possible evidence inside.
As the robbery suspects started to make their getaway in what police say was a stolen vehicle, they turned from the bank driveway onto School Street just below.
They jumped a curve in the driveway and bottomed out, leaving behind an oil trail in both the driveway and the road adjacent to the bank.
"The vehicle needs oil to travel," said Chief John Hartman, of the Southwestern Regional Police Department. "The amount of oil that we found at the scene and leading from the scene supported that this vehicle, after it knocked off the oil filter, was losing all of the oil out of its engine."
That wasn't the only glitch in the suspects' getaway plans.
"Clearly, the money is stained with red dye," said Chief Hartman.
The dye pack exploded inside the vehicle as the robbers were driving from the bank.
"It's our information that the bag had exploded and the dye went everywhere and the money went flying out the window," Chief Hartman added. "A number of people had stopped to assist. They were actually picking it up off the road."
The suspects apparently ran off after abandoning the white Ford Escape outside of a local auto repair shop on Finleyville-Elrama Road. When the business was closing, employees spotted a suspicious vehicle parked outside.
"Looked inside and saw a couple dollars on the seat, and then noticed that there was red ink all up the passenger door; it's like… we just figured that this was the car that they just used," said Dave Brienig, of CT Auto Recyclers.
One of the casualties of the robbery and the suspects' escape, the Christmas concert at Ringgold Middle School, which is located next to the bank, had to be canceled as a precaution.
RELATED LINKS:
More Washington County News
More Local News
