Police have apprehended one of the men involved in the hijacking and subsequent crash of a delivery vehicle into the Muizenberg railway bridge on Thursday morning.
The suspect, a 27-year-old resident of Langa, hijacked a truck allegedly owned by retail company Takealot, along with an accomplice who managed to flee the scene. According to police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, the delivery truck collided with the Atlantic Road bridge around 9.45am on Thursday.
Van Wyk stated that a local security company captured the driver as he attempted to escape.
“It has subsequently been determined that the vehicle was hijacked in a Kirstenhof case; the 27-year-old male, a resident of Langa, was detained at Muizenberg SAPS. He will appear in court once charged,”
he said.
Attempts to reach Takealot for a comment have so far been unsuccessful.
JP Smith, the City’s safety and security Mayco member, provided further details about the incident.
“A goods vehicle collided with the Muizenberg railway bridge. While travelling at an increased speed and ignoring the flashing warning signs that their vehicle was over the height limit, the trailer compartment hit the bridge with considerable force,”
said Smith.
“Lifting the front of the truck and slamming the driver’s compartment into the underneath of the bridge, both occupants were catapulted into the windscreen,”
Smith added.
After the crash, the injured occupants were seen sitting on the pavement as a crowd gathered. There were older markings on the truck’s windscreen, indicating that the truck had been hijacked, recovered, and booked into the SAPS holding yard previously.
“At this point, both occupants took off running in different directions, with one of the suspects heading back towards the main road where a getaway vehicle was waiting. The other suspect fled in the direction of Strandfontein but was quickly apprehended by one of the local security companies. It then emerged that the truck had been hijacked earlier in Ocean View,”
Smith detailed.
Smith also highlighted the ongoing threat posed by criminal syndicates targeting goods vehicles.
“Recently, our SSIU (Safety and Security Investigation Unit) received information of a location in Airport Industria where such stolen goods were being kept and, after raiding the premises, was able to recover several consignments that were taken during various hijackings,”
he explained.
As the investigation continues, authorities remain vigilant against the persistent threat of vehicle hijackings and the operations of criminal syndicates.
