 Joe Tulley is forced to shoot the proprietor during a botched gas station holdup, and a nearby witness identifies Tulley s car as he and his wife Gloria attempt to speed away from the scene. When the proprietor dies, Tulley knows that the Highway Patrol will be searching relentlessly for the car, and he pleads with his brother Frank to dispose of it in a large hydraulic press. Frank reluctantly agrees to help and is able to get the car into the press minutes before Dan Mathews and Sergeant Williams arrive. However, the witness s description of a small ornament on the car s rear view mirror helps them identify the crushed remains, leading to a tense armed confrontation.