Heres another interesting example of "Hollywood" car chasing between cops and gangsters, but this time it also included a medical doctor and a vigilante group made out of ordinary civilians. Those were the old days when ordinary people still defended their own ground from gangsters and all types of criminals.

I dont know if you guys knew that many Jewish members of the old Chicago Outfit started their careers as bank robbers, "Dillinger style". One of those guys was infamous Chicago member Leonard "Blinkey" Patrick.

Back in 1933 Patrick's gang planned a robbery of the State Exchange Bank in Culver, Indiana. On May 29, six gang members got into their car and rolled into Culver. At the wheel was Joe Switalski aka Jack Shea, a former Chicago policeman and former chauffeur of Joe Saltis, the infamous Chicago beer baron. Other members in the car were the gang's alleged leader Danny McGeoghegan, Emmett Kearns aka Edward Murphy, Walter Grabowski, Lenny Patrick and his brother Jack Patrick.

Once they reached their target, five of the gangsters rushed into the bank, leaving their driver in the getaway car. Once in the bank they pistol whipped few pedestrians and bank clerks and forced the rest of the customers to lie down on the floor. The robbery lasted for two or three minutes, but in that short interval, gun fire started out side. Switalski, with his automatic gun, exchanged fire with some vigilante group, formed by local men. A moment later, a bullet cut into the forehead of Switalski and another one into his shoulder.

McGeoghegan rushed out and saw that his buddy was wounded and rushed back into the bank to assemble his associates. They all acted cool and at gun point they took few hostages and used them as shield from the vigilante’s fire. They threw the stolen cash into the car and shifted Switalski, who was bleeding profusely, from under the wheel to the back seat, and Murphy took the wheel. The hostages were ordered to stand on the running boards and the car thundered away to the west in a cloud of dust and gunfire. Outside the city limits, the bandits ordered their hostages to jump.

A local medical doctor, who had witnessed the bloody conflict, jumped into his car and rapidly went after the bandits. But he made a mistake because he came too close and one of the bandits noticed him, jumped on his feet and fired at the doctor’s car at close range, thus stopping him. They ordered him out and cursed him soundly for trying to follow them. An argument occurred between the bandits over leaving the wounded Switalski. McGeoghegan ordered them to leave him with the doctor.

The robbers continued to a combined woods and swamp near the little town of Ober. While driving through the woods they crashed their car and got stuck between two trees and could not go further. The small party of armed local vigilantes and government people followed the car tracks along the dirt road. They found and arrested the wounded Switalski who in turn was left by the road with the doctor, and proceeded to chase the remaining gangsters around the woods. They cautiously followed the tracks of the bandit's car and in just few hours they found and arrested all of the gang members, including the Patrick brothers and McGeoghegan.

On June 28, 1933 all of the gang members stood for trial and received prison sentences. Most of the gangsters, including Lenny Patrick received a 10 year prison terms, except for McGeoghegan, who received 25 years. Lenny first went to the Indiana State Reformatory and on February 22, 1934 he was transferred to the Indiana State Penitentiary.

During the 1940s, the Patrick brothers and Murphy became official associates of the Chicago mob. Cheers