Johannesburg - A police search of a vehicle that revealed only “a small amount of dagga” ended in the death of two people on Thursday morning after the driver sped off with an officer still inside his high-performance car.
Police are investigating the incident, which ended with both the driver and policeman being killed and the Audi R8 smashed into three pieces outside the Mozambican consulate in Rosebank after a high-speed chase.
The driver of the car, the price of which starts at about R1.5 million, apparently sped off while his vehicle was being searched.
The police officer was in the car with him.
“It is alleged that the owner of the vehicle was stopped by the police in Sandton, where his vehicle was searched and a small amount of dagga was found,” said provincial SAPS spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini.
He said the driver, whose name was given to The Star by the police, then sped off with the 31-year-old constable who was still searching the vehicle.
“The name of the policeman will be released after his family have been informed,” said Dlamini.
Another officer followed the car in a police van.
The driver then apparently lost control and spun off on Oxford Road, between Northwold Drive and Bristol Road.
“The vehicle hit a tree, a wall and a street light pole before it was broken into three pieces,” said Dlamini.
Onlookers and the media were kept away as forensic investigators combed the scene at about 10am.
Dozens of police officers stood shocked at what they saw.
Eventually the crowds were allowed closer to the scene.
The front end of the car rested on the pavement and the back section lay a few metres behind it.
The third piece, which consisted of the driver’s seat and door, rested in the middle of Oxford Road.
Next to the driver’s seat was a pool of blood.
The passenger side of the front section was wrapped around a street lamp-post while a concrete dustbin near the back section appeared to have been smashed to pieces and rubbish covered the road.
Skid marks could be seen stretching from the left side of the road over to the side of the oncoming traffic where the car rested.
Oxford Road was closed off and traffic was redirected on to Bristol Road to those travelling south.
A police tow truck winched the pieces off the road to take them away for further investigation.
A street lightpost on the corner of Oxford Road and Northwold Drive had been knocked over and the wall of the Mozambican consulate was also damaged.
The Star