Pedaling from police, suspect crashes into prime position in 5 bank robberies in last 6 weeks

By KVAL Web Staff Published: Dec 5, 2008 at 3:55 PM PST Last Updated: Dec 5, 2008 at 5:15 PM PST
Pedaling from police, suspect crashes into prime position in 5 bank robberies in last 6 weeks »Play Video
Where's your helmet? Police want to talk to this fellow about a bank robbery on Coburg Road. They might remind him Coburg Road has a bike lane, but there's no better piece of safety equipment than a bike helmet, whether you're making a breakaway in the Tour de France or a getaway from a Eugene bank robbery.

EUGENE, Ore. -- Police chased a man on a bicycle from the scene of a bank robbery,  past the police station and through downtown Eugene around noon on a sunny fall day.

The pursuers didn't have to catch up: Douglas Brian Hart, 50, collided with a police cruiser from Springfield, Ore., as he tried to turn left at 5th and High, according to Eugene police.

Hart was taken for treatment at a local hospital for what police described as "minor injuries."

When released, Hart faces five felony counts of robbery in the second degree, according to Eugene police.

Police suspect Hart of robbing five in the last six weeks in Eugene, Ore. Each of the five cases fall within a mile of each other, police say -- and in most of the cases, the culprit rode off on a bicycle.

Police said Hart is their suspect in the following five robberies: