WESTPORT — Three people — two men from Bronx, N.Y., and a 17-year-old juvenile — have been formally charged with the Thursday theft of merchandise valued at more than $7,000 at the local Ulta Beauty store, police said Friday.

The three suspects were taken into custody after police said their getaway car crashed on Interstate 95 shortly after the alleged theft.

Stores in the Ulta Beauty chain have been targeted for thefts — some for significant losses — over the last several years, including the theft of more than $6,000 in cosmetics and beauty products stolen from the Westport outlet in August 2020.

A Hartford man was charged last July in connection with that theft.

The latest incident unfolded about 11:50 a.m. Thursday, according to police, when three people entered the Ulta Beauty store at 1365 Post Road Road.

The trio placed merchandise into bags and then left without paying, police said. Witnesses told authorities they fled from the store toward nearby Old Road, where a car apparently was waiting.

The getaway car crashed a short time later on I-95, where police said witnesses reported that four people fled from the wreck. After a perimeter was set up by police around the crash scene, with the assistance of a State Police K-9 team, three suspects were taken into custody on Treadwell Avenue.

Investigators continue trying to determine if a fourth person was involved in the incident.

On Friday, police said Daequan Turner, 18, and Tyjon Mitchell, 20, both of Bronx, N.Y., have been charged with third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny and interfering with an officer.

Both men were held on $10,000 bonds, and were scheduled to be arraigned on the charges later Friday at state Superior Court in Stamford.

The 17-year-old, who was not identified because of his age, will face the same charges, according to police. In the meantime, he was turned over to the custody of a parent.