Johannesburg - Police are investigating allegations that Diepkloof, Soweto, police officers refused to help the family of a young man who lost a leg after a hit-and-run incident.
Officers who arrived at the scene after the accident apparently told the family the accident happened outside their jurisdiction and then left without calling an ambulance.
The mother of Lebogang Silindane, Refilwe, said the officers had told the family they were doing them a favour by being there.
Refilwe said that when they went to Diepkloof police station to open a case, the officers there also refused to help, saying their shift had ended.
Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said on Thursday an investigation was under way to look into the behaviour of the police at the scene, and then at the police station.
“We have already obtained statements from the witnesses,” he added. Dlamini said a police officer from Diepkloof police station would conduct the investigation.
The driver has not been arrested, despite the police having his details. Dlamini said they were still trying to locate him.
Silindane was approaching Diepkloof Extension last week and walking on the roadside when a car lost control, hit him and dragged him several metres.
Silindane said the driver got out of his car, picked him up and threw him down an embankment.
“When he picked me up, I thought he was helping me, but he threw me over the barrier on the other side of the road.
“He stood watching me. He wanted to see whether I would move. I did not and just kept quiet, because I thought he would probably kill me,” he said.
An eyewitness, Simnikiwe Xhala, helped Silindane and called his family, an ambulance and the police. But the ambulance never arrived.
Refilwe said she was stunned when she arrived at the scene and the officers told her she must call 112.
The Star