CT crime spree involving stolen car with toddler inside, bank robbery ends with suspect dying after striking tree

One person is dead after police in Windsor say he stole a car with a young child inside and robbed a bank before fleeing the scene and striking a tree on Wednesday.

The Windsor Police Department said they were first alerted to the crime spree at about 9:09 a.m. when they received a 911 call reporting that someone stole a vehicle from St. Gabriel School on Bloomfield Avenue with a 17-month-old child in the backseat.

Less than a minute later, police said they received a 911 call reporting a robbery at the Windsor Federal Savings Bank at 250 Broad St. Windsor police Lt. Nicholas Dally said in a statement that police received a third 911 call “almost simultaneously” reporting a single-car crash involving a vehicle that struck a tree on Windsor Avenue near Hillcrest Road.

Police responded to all three call locations and requested firefighters and medics at the crash.

“As officers gathered information at each location, it became apparent that all three incidents are related,” Dally said.

Dally said police believe the suspect, who has not been identified, stole the car in front of St. Gabriel’s school before robbing the Windsor Federal Savings Bank. Police believe he fled the robbery and crashed the stolen vehicle with the toddler still inside.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

“The child that was in the backseat of the vehicle was awake and responsive at the scene,” Dally said.

The mother of the child was brought to the crash scene before accompanying the toddler to the Connecticut Children’s Hospital.

Dally said police are withholding the identity of the suspect until his next of kin have been notified.

The North Central Municipal Accident Reconstruction Team is assisting in the crash investigation.

Dally said police are still investigating the series of incidents.