NEW MILFORD - A bank robbery and police chase ended with a crash that closed Route 7 in New Milford Tuesday morning.
Police say Christopher Basigalup, 46, of Torrington robbed the TD Bank on High Street in Torrington around 8:45 a.m. Police say bank employees recognized Basigalup. “Some of the people seemed to know him. I think he might even be a customer,” Torrington Police Lt. Linas Venclauskas said.
While police searched for the suspect, all Torrington public, private, and pre-schools were placed on lockdown.
Police tell Fox CT they were able to quickly identify Basigalup as the suspect as he has been arrested before.
Around 10 a.m. State Police caught up with him as he fled down Route 7. State police say they attempted to pull him over for a motor vehicle violation. Eventually, he crashed into a box truck near the New Milford, Brookfield town line.
“The operator of the small pick-up truck had to be extracated from his vehicle and was transported to Danbury Hospital with serious injuries,” State Police spokesperson Trooper Kelly Grant said.
Basigalup was taken to Danbury Hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the box truck was not injured but was checked out at Danbury Hospital just to be sure.
State Police, FBI, and Torrington Police were all involved in the situation.
Basigalup is known to police for a series of other robbery offenses and he is already wanted for a violation of probation. He will be served with warrants related to Tuesday’s events once he has recovered.