Polokwane - Police in Apel outside Lebowakgomo have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with a hit-and-run accident in which a traffic officer died on Friday afternoon, Limpopo police said.
"According to information, a 48-year-old traffic police officer was on official duties doing point duty when a speeding car emerged," Lt-Col Moatshe Ngoepe said on Saturday.
"The deceased traffic officer tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver did not comply and subsequently knocked him [over] and proceeded driving and disappeared. Another traffic police officer who was with the deceased chased that car until at Stydskraal where the driver was arrested and handed over to the police."
The traffic officer was taken to hospital for medical attention, but he later succumbed to his serious injuries. "The preliminary police investigations suggested that the driver was intoxicated and his blood test was taken before he could be detained."
The dead officer was identified as Masedi Mabusela, who was attached to the Tubatse-Fetakgomo municipality traffic station and living in Mankweng outside Polokwane.
The arrested man would appear in the local magistrate's court soon on charges of culpable homicide and driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor, Ngoepe said.