Police van 'ploughs' into shoppers at mall
Four people were injured when a police vehicle crashed into a group of pedestrians at Checkers Centre at Somerset Mall.
|||Cape Town - Police are investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving after four people were injured, one of them critically, when a police vehicle crashed into a group of pedestrians at Checkers Centre at Somerset Mall in Somerset West on Wednesday afternoon.
Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut said the injured shoppers, and two people who were in the back of the van, were taken to hospital.
A police officer had just picked up two shoplifting suspects and exited the parking area when the incident happened.
The accelerator cable is believed to have jammed, causing the police van to plough into the shoppers.
However, an investigation is still under way.
Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairman Billy Smith said the police officer was extremely traumatised after the incident and had spent the night in hospital.
“The CPF passes on the deepest sympathies to those injured and those involved.
“We would appreciate it that the community would allow the law to take its course until investigations are completed,” Smith said.
In a separate incident this morning, 11 people were injured when a taxi rear-ended a car on the M3 in Claremont.
Paramedics and metro services arrived at thescene and found that 11 of the 17 commuters had been injured.
Cape Argus