Fleeing Bank Robbery Suspect Crashes At Tri-State Tollbooth: FBI

NORTHBROOK, IL — After a bank robbery was reported in Third Lake Tuesday, a fleeing Chicago man crashed his getaway vehicle near Northbrook and is now in custody, according to the FBI and the Lake County Sheriff's office. The Associated Bank branch at 34354 N. Highway 45 near Grayslake was robbed at 3:10 p.m. by a large man in a sweatshirt in a non-takeover robbery, meaning only the teller was aware the bank was being robbed.

The robber put a white plastic bag on the counter and told the teller, "This is a robbery. Put the money in the bag," according to an FBI affidavit. The man also said something about dye packs or bait bills, the teller told investigators. The teller took bundles of cash and loose bills from a drawer and put about $3,851 in cash into the man's plastic bag.

The robber was then seen fleeing the bank in a white Nissan Altima, according to the FBI and the Lake County Sheriff's office. A sheriff’s deputy found the Nissan about three miles south of the bank, near Peterson Road and Route 45 in Libertyville and noticed it fit the description of the robbery suspects vehicle. He tried to pull over the car on Highway 45 but it "started to drive erratically" and continued to flee.

The driver went down several side streets before heading north, then east onto Route 120 to I-94. After reaching I-94, the the Nissan drove southbound on I-94. Deputies pursued the car as it fled south on Route 45, then west onto Route 120, before traveling southbound on I-94.

After the Nissan passed into Cook County, Lake County Sheriff’s deputies stopped the chase but kept an eye on the car unmarked squad cars.

The fleeing Nissan continued south on I-94 to I-294, which it exited at at Willow Road near Glenview. According to responding law enforcement and the FBI, a Pontiac Grand Am was blocking the lane where the Altima would need to pass in order to get through the toll plaza.

In an attempt to get around the Pontiac, the driver of the Nissan hit the concrete median, resulting in a flat tire, before hitting the stopped Pontiac he had tried to pass. The driver and passenger in the Pontiac were taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver of the Nissan was identified as Alan H. Vasquez, 46, of the 3200 block of West Arthington Street in Chicago, according to a Lake County Sheriff's office spokesperson. He was taken into custody by detectives from the Lake County Sheriff's Department, who found evidence from the bank robbery in his car – including the clothes the robber was seen wearing in surveillance video and exactly $3,851 in cash in a plastic bag, much of it stamped with the bank's identifying information.

As of Wednesday morning, Vasquez has been charged with misdemeanor fleeing and eluding, driving with a revoked driver’s license and numerous other traffic violations. He was subsequently turned over to federal authorities to face charges related to the bank robbery. He had his initial federal court appearance Wednesday morning, where he was ordered detained by a judge, according to the FBI.