Police help COVID vaccine reach pharmacy after crash following robbery
Vaccine was being transported when robbery suspects crashed into the car.
An armed robbery in Antioch could have led to a loss more precious than money when the assailants slammed into a car carrying COVID-19 vaccine in Pittsburg.
The saga began on Wednesday around 12:30 p.m. when two suspects robbed a woman who was making a cash deposit at the Wells Fargo Bank ATM in the 5800 block of Lone Tree Way and fled to a waiting car. An officer spotted the gray Infiniti on Highway 4 but police called off the chase as suspects traveled at speeds up to 100 mph, according to Antioch police.
The getaway car later crashed and hit two vehicles at East Leland Road and Harbor Street where Pittsburg police had put up spike strips. One of those cars, though, was transporting the precious COVID-19 vaccines, which have been in short supply lately.
Pittsburg police Capt. Steve Albanese said four vehicles were disabled at the scene and “they were not going anywhere anytime soon.”
One of the drivers of the disabled vehicles approached a Pittsburg officer to let him know about his dilemma regarding his time-sensitive cargo that needed to be in cold storage, he said.
“His vehicle was disabled at that point,” Albanese said. “Clearly, they were going to spoil if they didn’t do anything.”
An officer and a sergeant then loaded the vaccines themselves.
“One of our quick-thinking officers recognized the need to get the vaccines to their destinations and escorted the delivery himself,” the Pittsburg police spokesman said.
“The precious vaccines made it to a local pharmacy and, we presume, into the arms of folks eager to get the vaccine,” he said.
The two robbery suspects, a 21-year-old male and a 17-year-old boy, crashed into a pole about a mile later and ran and hid in a backyard before a police dog found them, police said.
The woman who was robbed was not injured and got her cash back, while the suspects were taken to a hospital for treatment, according to police.
“It was just another interesting day on the beat,” the Pittsburg spokesperson added.
Check back for updates.
Rick Hurd contributed to this report.