Culver City Observer -

By David W. Myers

Managing Editor

A robbery at the Bank of America branch on Culver Boulevard in Downtown was thwarted Monday because the robber fled before the teller could hand over the cash that he had demanded.

Details of the bungled hold-up at the branch at 9453 Culver were still sketchy at press time, and Branch Manager Gilbert Morales refused to take phone calls about the incident. But according to police reports, a man entered the bank and handed a note to a BofA representative demanding that she stuff a bag with cash.

As the rep turned to get the money, "the robber apparently got nervous and ran away, empty-handed," Lt. Troy Dunlop of the Culver City Police Department said. The suspect may have feared that a silent alarm had been triggered, he added.

The suspect is described as a black male, 5' 8" to 6', with a medium build.

Dunlop said he was fairly confident that the would-be robber would be caught.

"The note he left behind probably has his fingerprints and DNA on it," Dunlop said. "And of course, there are always the bank's surveillance cameras."

Separately, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant was seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash near the border of Culver City and West Los Angeles on early Tuesday morning.

The crash occurred about 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of Bristol Parkway and Centinela Avenue, according to Office Christopher No of the LAPD's media department. A silver Cadillac Esplanade rammed both the officer's car and another before fleeing the scene.

The unnamed female officer was hospitalized with several broken bones and contusions, but none are considered life-threatening.