A York County woman rammed her truck into an alleged bank robber’s getaway car Thursday, helping police eventually catch him.
Tina Gleim had stopped by the PNC Bank on Rosstown Road in Warrington Township, York County, to sign a new contract for a safe deposit box.
State police say around 9:50 a.m. Alexis Laskowski came into the bank, demanded money and left.
A bank employee told Gleim she was “shaking” and pointed out Laskowski running to his getaway car across the street at the Wellsville Lions Club.
“I just thought, ‘Well, I’m there.’ It seemed like an opportunity for me to do some good,” said Gleim. “So, I stepped on the gas and turned my wheel and looked him in the eye and drove right into the front quarter panel of his vehicle and the tire.”
Gleim says Laskowski was pinned between her truck and a utility pole. Police say he was eventually able to get free but broke down about a quarter mile away. Police caught him around 10:30 a.m.
“It’s the only thing I could do. The opportunity presented itself, and I thought it was the right thing to do,” said Gleim. “I didn’t have any fear that he had a gun…just felt like I could do it, that I was being looked out for.”
Gleim wasn’t hurt.
After police arrested Laskowski, they say he confessed to four other recent bank robberies in Boiling Springs, Mount Holly Springs and Dover. A judge set his bail at $500,000 cash.
Police executed a search warrant at Laskowski’s parent’s home. In a news release, police say the search “yielded incriminating evidence, which included pink-stained clothing from the M&T Bank robbery in Mt. Holly Springs.”
“While she did something very courageous, we encourage people to be good witnesses, just make note of the actor, what he’s wearing, maybe a description of the vehicle,” said Trooper Rob Hicks.
For now, Gleim is borrowing her husband’s truck while she shops for a new one.