There was a commotion on Van Riebeeck Road on Sunday afternoon (17 September) after a minibus taxi first collided with a bakkie from City of Cape Town’ s law enforcement before crashing into a fence.
The driver tried to flee on foot but was apprehended soon afterwards.
Steven Alexander who was at the car wash nearby said he heard two loud bangs.
“The first impact was the two vehicles colliding and the second the taxi hitting the railing.
“When I came round the corner I saw a guy running away from the scene and jumping over the fence between Limnos (Bakers) and the canal.”
He said the incident happened shortly before 16:00.
Alexander was told by a woman, “one of the vagrants sleeping near the canal”, that a group of them chased after the taxi driver.
Someone apparently made a “rugby tackle” to stop the driver, who was allegedly under the influence in his tracks so that law enforcement could catch up with him.
He shared video footage of the crashed taxi and law enforcement’s bakkie that he took soon after the incident, on a community Facebook group on Monday, as he felt those who assisted in apprehending the runaway driver deserve some recognition.
On Monday TygerBurger made several enquiries to try and track down anyone who might have been involved.
A couple walking by the canal near the scene of the incident (that came from the little settlement near the hospital) said they knew of someone who were there. “The man took us to three men who live at the settlement on the open field nearby.”
All three knew of the incident and heard the impact, but not of anyone that made a tackle.
When asked about chasing the suspect, the men said they were too far away as the taxi driver was running in the opposite direction (towards Nooiensfontein Road).
They said there were plenty of officers – from law enforcement and “traffic also” – that chased after the driver.
“We only pointed them (the officers) in the right direction,” said one.
There was certainly not much love lost towards City’s law enforcement – that “break structures down” and “take our stuff’’ – among the men and a woman who joined the conversation after a while.
Response
Law Enforcement spokesperson, Wayne Dyason confirmed the incident happened around 16:00 on Sunday. He said in response to TygerBurger’s enquiry “a minibus attempted to make a U-turn along Van Riebeeck Road and collided with a Law Enforcement vehicle”.
“The taxi driver fled on foot, but members of the Law Enforcement Rapid Response Unit who were in the area, assisted their colleague who was involved in the collision, in tracking him down soon after,” Dyason said.
The taxi driver was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as reckless and negligent driving. Dyason said the man was also found to be driving without a licence.
“The driver of the Law Enforcement vehicle sustained a minor injury to his left shoulder. The taxi driver was unharmed, but in shock,” Dyason said.
Asked specifically if the suspect was apprehended by or with assistance of vagrants, Dyason said: “They assisted by pointing out the direction in which the suspect fled and by watching the vehicle while the officers pursued.”
Earlier incident
In another taxi-related incident earlier this month traffic officers apprehended a driver on their Top 100 list of outstanding warrants in Kuils River. Officers forced the driver of the minibus taxi who had 59 outstanding warrants to the value of R178 900 against him to a stop on Saturday 2 September.
The man also tried to flee on foot through the canal and into vegetation but was chased by the officers and caught.
He was held in custody and recently appeared in the Parow court.
Traffic Services spokesperson, Maxine Bezuidenhout, said: “The suspect was unable to pay the fines and was sentenced to three months in prison. The fines will be scrapped.”
Bezuidenhout said this only relate to the 41 warrants he had outstanding at the Parow court.
“He also has 18 outstanding warrants at another court.”
