Officers later stopped both cars near Glasgow, Del., and the man the firefighter identified, a Wilmington resident, was taken into custody, Elkton police Capt. Lawrence W. Waldridge Jr. said.
Walter D. Wardlaw, 34, of the first block of Washington St., was awaiting extradition Wednesday to Cecil County, Md., to face bank robbery charges, Waldridge said.
The robbery occurred about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Peoples Bank of Elkton, Elkton Crossing Shopping Plaza, Melbourne Boulevard and U.S. 40.
Waldridge said a man gave a clerk a note that claimed he had a gun and a bomb and demanded money. The teller gave him money from a cash drawer, and the man fled.
The unidentified volunteer firefighter, who had been in the bank on personal business and saw what happened, called police afterward to say he was following and provided officers with a location, Waldridge said.
Minutes later, Elkton police said, they located both the suspect's and witness's vehicles on Del. 896 north, near Old Baltimore Pike in the Glasgow area and took Wardlaw into custody. Wardlaw then was turned over to Delaware authorities because the arrest occurred in Delaware.
