A foiled housebreaking turned fatal for one suspect on Saturday, who died when the getaway car he was in crashed into an oncoming police van.
Five police officers in the van were taken to hospital, and one is in a serious condition.
The suspects are alleged to have also been involved in an earlier attempted housebreaking in Muizenberg on Friday night, where they managed to get away.
In that incident, the area's neighbourhood watch gave armed response companies operating in the area a description of the car, and it was spotted in the area again on Saturday.
An armed response vehicle gave chase at about 5pm on Saturday, which ended in the suspected getaway car driver crashing into the police vehicle which was driving in an oncoming lane.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said there had been four suspects in the car, and one was declared dead by the time police arrived.
The other three were taken to hospital and are under police guard.
All five police officers were injured, and three are still in hospital, Van Wyk said.
Cases of culpable homicide, attempted housebreaking and possession of a stolen car are being investigated.
“On Saturday, Muizenberg police attended the scene of a serious motor vehicle accident in Sunrise Boulevard, Muizenberg, at about 5.15pm. The vehicles involved were a white Toyota Hilux (SAPS vehicle) and a red Mercedes-Benz sedan. It was reported that the red Mercedes-Benz had been involved in an attempted housebreaking a short while earlier; a local security provider gave chase but lost the vehicle in the Muizenberg area...
"The Mercedes-Benz, which was later determined to be stolen, had four occupants. One of them was declared dead on the scene, and the others taken to nearby hospitals for treatment,” Van Wyk said.