7. The first automobile to be used in a bank robbery was in 1909
In 1909, according to the Rich Hill (Missouri) Tribune edition of August 19, 1909, two perpetrators identified only as young men arrived in front of the Valley Bank of Santa Clara, California, and entered the bank. A driver remained in the car. The young men produced shotguns and ordered the chief cashier, a man named Birge, and his aides to hand over all available cash. They then left the bank with about $7,000 in mostly small bills. The driver then sped off, and since the make and model of the vehicle were not reported in the Tribune, it is impossible to determine what speeds were attained, but they were pursued by citizens and police also in automobiles. The chase covered seven miles before police caught up with them.
They were able to do so thanks to the driver, who was not an accomplice but was provided along with the vehicle, which had been rented by the two bank robbers. Once the driver realized what was happening, he manipulated the vehicle’s controls to cause the engine to stall, after they had covered the seven miles aforementioned, and the robbers were forced to continue their flight on foot. The police in automobiles were able to run them down quickly, and they were apprehended and taken to jail. The money was returned to the bank. It was the first known instance of an automobile being used as a getaway car following both an armed robbery and a bank robbery. Two years later, the first successful getaway by automobile following a bank robbery took place in France.