A suspected robber was killed and another one wounded after a foiled cash-in-transit heist on the N2 highway in Durban on Tuesday, police said.
Director Johan Booysen of the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit in Durban said the police's National Intervention Unit (NIU) spotted a Mercedes Benz attempting to force a cash van off the M4 highway near the Clairwood racecourse.
Booysen said NIU officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but shots were fired and a gun battle ensued.
The driver of the Mercedes Benz was shot and killed, while a man in the back seat was hit in the leg by a bullet that had passed through the boot of the car.
The wounded man was taken to a local hospital. The cash van was not attacked during the incident.
Three 9mm pistols and a Smith & Wesson .38 special were recovered at the scene. More than 20 spent cartridges were also recovered at the scene.
A woman was injured when her car was hit by the Mercedes Benz in the melee.
The Durban-bound lanes on the M4 were closed for several hours as crime scene investigators worked in pouring rain.
Rush-hour traffic on the M4 and the N2 was backed up for several kilometres as motorists attempted to find alternative routes home. - Sapa