Pretoria doctor arrested while rushing to Covid-19 patient in Middelburg
Critical care specialist, Dr Johannes Smit said the patient he was rushing to assist died, while traffic officers of the high-speed unit allegedly assaulted him during his arrest.
Gauteng traffic police’s high-speed unit insists it was simply doing its job when it apprehended a Pretoria doctor who was speeding to a medical emergency in Middelburg two weeks ago.
Dr Johannes Smit, a critical care specialist, was rushing from Pretoria to a hospital in Middelburg after receiving a telephone call from a colleague who informed him that a patient of his was critically ill.
Smit’s legal representative, Danie Schutte, told Rekord that his client’s services were required as he was the only specialist around who could deal with patients with severe Covid-related breathing problems.
Near Bronkhorstspruit, Smit was stopped by a traffic officer for speeding.
“He informed the traffic officer that he was a doctor, which was also evident from the clearly visible sticker he had placed on his car’s dashboard,” Schutte said.
“He also informed the traffic officer that he was in a hurry to Middelburg to save a patient’s life. The traffic officer realised the seriousness of the situation and told him to go.”
Schutte said while Smit was driving, he received another phone call from the hospital informing him that the patient’s condition has drastically deteriorated.
The Waterkloof-based doctor traveled straight to the hospital and parked his vehicle at the main entrance of the hospital.
“Dr Smit was followed by the Gauteng High-Speed Traffic Department in an unmarked vehicle,” Schutte said.
“The traffic vehicle bumped into Dr Smit’s vehicle and parked behind Dr Smit vehicle in such a way that Dr Smit’s vehicle could not be moved away without the traffic vehicle having to move out of the way.
“After he got out of his vehicle, Dr Smit was assaulted, arrested, and handcuffed. The younger traffic officer later unlocked the handcuffs and released Dr Smit.”
It is believed the patient Smit had been rushing to treat succumbed to Covid-related complications and died while the ordeal was unfolding.
Schutte said Smit sustained serious injuries due to the assault and was admitted to the hospital where he spent the night.
“It is Dr Smit’s wish that the patient’s family be allowed the necessary space and time to come to terms with the patient’s death,” he said.
“Out of respect for the patient’s family and because of doctor-patient confidentiality Dr Smit will not identify the patient or provide further information about the patient.”
Responding to the claims, Gauteng Traffic police spokesperson Sello Maremane said officials were just doing their job by arresting Dr Smit.
Maremane said the unit spotted Smit driving close to 190km/h in a 120km/h zone on the N4 towards Bronkhorstspruit, where they tried to stop him.
“He failed to stop,” Maremane said.
“The officers chased him and managed to apprehend him in Middleburg where he alleged he was attending to a patient who then died as a result of him not being able to attend to them.
“The bottom line is that the law is very clear. If the doctor is rushing to an emergency situation, he or she must be driving an emergency vehicle. While driving that vehicle there must be red lights with a siren with the vehicle being registered as an emergency vehicle, which was not the case at all.”
Maremane said there was no way the officers could have left Smit as he had broken the law and did not meet any of the required standards for an emergency vehicle.
He said the officers tried to arrest him for the offence, but Smit said he was not feeling well and that he required medical treatment.
“They allowed him to get medical treatment at the hospital while they went to open a case at the Bronkhorstspruit police station,” he said.
“About the assault; if our traffic officers did assault the doctor, he can lodge a complaint so that we can investigate the matter. We have not received any complaints.”
He said officers were not allowed to assault any member of the public and that any complaint would be subject to an investigation.
He urged the doctor to bring forth any evidence or write to the department.
“If there is any evidence that our officers have attacked this poor doctor, I would want to charge that misconduct. They are not allowed to do that.”
He said Smit faces a charge of reckless and negligent driving as well as a charge of driving in excess of the prescribed speed limit.
Schutte said Smit would in due course consider his options regarding legal action against the traffic department.
“It is our sincere wish that this incident will highlight the plight our doctors face when receiving emergency calls.”
“We fully support Dr Smit and the many other health workers who face this pandemic every day.”
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
