Pretoria - The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Gauteng on Sunday expressed sadness at the death of two of its officers - one on duty and the other off-duty - in two separate road accidents this weekend.
Members of Atteridgeville SAPS were attending to a roadblock on the R511 and R512 at about 8.40pm on Saturday night when a speeding vehicle failed to stop, Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said.
"A male constable was knocked down and succumbed to [his] injuries. The member was declared dead on the scene. A male suspect, who was allegedly intoxicated at the time, was arrested for culpable homicide and for driving under the influence of alcohol."
In the second incident, it was alleged that a vehicle with two occupants inside crashed into a truck on the R21 near Olifantsfontein. Both the driver and the passenger, one of whom had since been confirmed as a 38-year-old warrant officer stationed at the SAPS national head office, were declared dead on the scene, Peters said.
Gauteng acting police commissioner Maj-Gen Max Masha extended deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased officers.
"The irony in this is that the integrated law enforcement agencies have since the beginning of the second phase of the safer festive season operations on 14 December 2018 embarked on operations focusing largely on road law enforcement.
"So these deaths are really sad and we thus urge the public to observe and respect traffic laws and rather find alternative means of transport after indulging in alcohol or drugs," Masha said.
Members of the public were urged to behave responsibly, heed the call by the SAPS to exercise maximum restraint and caution this festive season. Crime, or any suspicious persons or activities, should be reported to the nearest police station or by calling the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600-10111.