Yarmouth police chased a pair of suspected robbers up Interstate 295 Wednesday, ending in a crash that injured the suspects and snarled afternoon traffic. An officer involved in the chase sustained a minor hand injury.

State police say the crash at the exit from Interstate 295 by Mallet Drive followed a highspeed chase that began in Yarmouth at approximately 3 p.m.

Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said Dylan Libby, 21, and his passenger, Madeline Damon, 18, both of North Yarmouth, were hospitalized with multiple injuries after they robbed a Rite Aid Pharmacy in Yarmouth minutes earlier and were pursued by police.

Yarmouth Police Chief Michael Morrill said this morning the two are still hospitalized at Maine Medical Center. Libby has been charged with felony charges of robbery and eluding a police officer, and violation of conditions of release. Further charges are pending. Damon has not been charged and her role in the incident is still under investigation.

“The car was being chased by Yarmouth police when it overturned attempting to exit Interstate 295 in Freeport,” McCausland said. Exit 22 was closed for the evening commute but the interstate remained open.

Morrill said police got three 911 calls at approximately 3 p.m. saying the Rite Aid Pharmacy had been robbed.

“Responding officers cornered the individual (in his car) as he was leaving the scene,” Morrill said, but the suspect eluded them, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer and hitting a cruiser in the process.

A chase ensued, reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, and the fleeing car crashed into another car at East Main Street and U.S. Route 1 in Yarmouth before continuing. Following the final crash in Freeport, Libby allegedly got out of the car and fled but was apprehended by Officer Mike Pierce. Pierce and Amie Rapa, the other officer involved in the chase, are OK.

Morrill said Maine State Police reconstructed the crash scene, used a police dog to search for evidence, and were investigating the scene at Rite Aid on Route 1 in Yarmouth.

Morrill said this morning police had recovered some of the drugs taken from the pharmacy. Though there was threat of a weapon mentioned during the robbery at Rite-Aid Wednesday, no weapon was displayed. This pharmacy was also robbed last December the day before Christmas.

“This is a very serious situation,” Morrill said. “It shows you how desperate these people are, when they’re robbing places like this, to get away from the scene and to get away from police.”

The suspects — who had recently relocated to Bangor — were listed in “satisfactory” condition this morning at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

dmoore@timesrecord.com