Man fleeing cops collapses and dies

Published Jul 29, 2015

Share

Pretoria - A man fleeing police collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack on Tuesday after allegedly being involved in a robbery on a British American Tobacco truck in Silverton.

Five of his accomplices were arrested when police, with the assistance of a chopper, caught up with them in Equestria. One of the suspects managed to get away.

The drama started at about 1.30pm when seven men cornered the truck and loaded an undisclosed amount of cigarettes into their two vehicles before fleeing the scene and heading towards Equestria, east of Pretoria.

Passers-by alerted the Silverton Police. Provincial police spokesman Major Mack Mngomezulu said: “Silverton police radio control received a complaint about a robbery in progress on a delivery truck. A police chopper and the K-9 Unit were dispatched.”

Police managed to pounce on the suspects while they were off-loading the cigarettes near Equestria.

A high-speed chase ensued during which the suspects abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot towards the N4 highway.

While the police were chasing them, one of the suspects who was overweight, collapsed and started vomiting. He later died of a suspected heart attack.

He had just reached the top of a small hill near the highway and was getting ready to jump the wall of a nearby estate when he suddenly collapsed. Paramedics arrived on the scene and declared him dead. There were no wounds on his body.

“Shots were fired but no one was injured during the incident,” said Mngomezulu.

“Through the help of helicopter surveillance, the two vehicles were spotted near Equestria and the K-9 Unit responded immediately. Other members from Gauteng task team assisted in the arrests.

“It is alleged that armed suspects in the back of a white VW Tiguan pointed their firearms at the driver of a delivery truck and forced him to stop. An undisclosed number of cigarette boxes were taken from the truck and loaded into the Tiguan, as well as a BMW,” he said.

Mngomezulu said five suspects were arrested and an undisclosed number of cigarette boxes recovered.

Police also recovered one of the two vehicles used in the robbery near the N4. A seventh suspect apparently fled in the BMW.

When the Pretoria News arrived on the scene, two handcuffed suspects were lying face down on the ground. They were surrounded by police.

The scene was also cordoned off, and traffic on the N4 highway was affected. Police dogs and a forensic team were busy at the scene as it was believed that one more suspect was still at large.

Police said they were investigating charges of robbery and possession of stolen property. Additional charges were possible.

[email protected]

Pretoria News

Related Topics: