VANDERBIJLPARK – Dalena Willeboordse (53), a dedicated Community Policing Forum (CPF) patroller, was tragically killed during an operation in Vanderbijlpark on June 6.
According to information at Ster’s disposal, police, CPF patrollers, and other stakeholders were conducting Operation Shanela duties in the area when the incident occurred.
As the roadblock at Barrage Road, opposite Star Nissan, was preparing to close, a CPF patroller was busy packing traffic cones behind a police vehicle.
“It is alleged that a white bakkie approached the roadblock at high speed and struck the patroller. Paramedics declared the victim dead at the scene before her body was transported to the mortuary,” said Vanderbijlpark police spokesperson, Sergeant Sabelo Sigcu.
The spokesperson said the driver of the vehicle was arrested at the scene and is facing a charge of culpable homicide.
On June 7 at approximately 18:00, police members and CPF patrollers gathered in large numbers to pay their last respects to the fallen crime-fighting heroine who lost her life while serving her community.
The Acting Station Commander of Vanderbijlpark Police Station, Colonel Thulani Mashele, condemned the alleged negligence of motorists and expressed his condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased.
