Alleged robber escapes after crashing into four cars

By Tando Mfengwana
17 October 2006

After crashing a car into four vehicles which were standing at the robot at the corner of Main and Boundary road, overturning it and hijacking another car, in Newlands yesterday, a suspected robber escaped police on foot.

The man in his mid 20’s was driving a navy Ford Fiesta when he was stopped by Metro Police at a routine stop and search in Main road, Claremont, as they checked his driver’s licence, a police officer spotted an assault rifle, thought to be an AK-47 or possibly an R-4 rifle, on the back seat, this is according to Police spokesperson Captain Randall Stoffels.

Police have confiscated the assault rifle for further investigation.

The suspect jumped into the vehicle and sped off, but collided into four vehicles that were standing at the robot at the corner of Main and Boundary road and overturned.

Five people, one a three year-old, were slightly injured.

A paramedic heading to work, assisted by Newlands Pharmacy workers, stopped and attended to a family of four and a man lying in the road, according to the Cape Times.

The report says that Ross Norton, who was hijacked by the suspect said that he watched the bleeding man crawl out of the overturned vehicle, which was branded with details of a Bellville cellphone shop.

It’s said that the owner of the cellphone shop is baffled about the branded car as the company used only white bakkies.

She said that it must be fraud, and that they are waiting for more information from the police before taking any steps.

Norton said that the man came to his window and shouted to him to get out; he was pulled out of the car and his clothes were stained with the hijacker’s blood.

Norton’s white Toyota Corolla was later found dumped in Toll lane, a few blocks away.

Colin van der Berg, a bridge renovator, said that he saw a car stopping as a truck was blocking the bend, according to the report.

He said an armed civilian chased and nearly caught the hijacker and that a domestic worker ran out, saying the man had raced across her employer’s property.