HAZYVIEW – Three alleged car thieves got busted when they were involved in an accident with the stolen vehicle.
The accident occurred on Tuesday morning on the R40. The vehicle, a Nissan bakkie with five occupants, overturned near Da Gama Dam. The driver apparently lost control after which the vehicle hit a barrier. Rescue workers responded to the scene and got alerted when they discovered a firearm and ammunition in the wreckage. It was established soon after that the vehicle had been stolen.

One of the occupants was consequently arrested after being freed from the wreckage. A second suspect tried to make a run for it by pretending to be hitch hiker, but police officials managed to nab him too. Officials that responded to the scene, heard moans from a nearby bush and discovered an injured man. It was one of the suspects who had tried to escape, but couldn’t because of a broken leg. He was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment.
“One of the arrested suspects told officials that a fourth suspect had jumped into the river,” provincial police spokesman Col Leonard Hlathi said. There was no sign of the man and police divers of White River were called to the scene to search for him. “We were told that there was a fifth suspect, but there was no trace of him,” Hlathi added. The search will continue this morning.

One suspect appeared in court on Wednesday and the two others appeared in absentia as they are being treated in hospital under police guard. The case was postponed for further investigation.

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