Chaos as robbery goes wrong
2007-09-04 08:53
Amanda Roestoff
Pretoria - Robbers who targeted a security van in Krugerdorp got a lot more than they bargained for when their getaway went wrong and they were forced to run.
The gang caused chaos on Monday morning after targeting Coin security guards.
The guards stopped at the Total filling station at the corner of Kruger Street and Luipaards Road to pick up money at about 09:00 on Monday morning. One guard was apparently overpowered on his way to the vehicle, was held up and robbed of his pistol and the moneybox.
The robbers fled in all directions and a group of between two and four jumped into a blue Nissan bakkie in an attempt to flee. The driver of the getaway bakkie ignored the traffic light, and collided with the bakkie of Frans Jooste, 52, a building contractor from Roodepoort.
Robber 'got a fright'
The robbers jumped out of their bakkie and with a gun to Jooste's head, demanded his bakkie's keys.
Two of them were getting into the bakkie while another one was putting the moneybox on the back. They started struggling.
"I slapped his cheek and he got a fright and ran away," said Jooste at the scene.
His accomplices fired wild shots from a parking lot while fleeing on foot. They left the moneybox behind. The shots hit a pedestrian in the right calf.
A taxi driver knocked over another bystander who ran over the busy intersection.
Both men sought shelter inside the Sunshine Supermarket before an ambulance took them to a local hospital.
Deon Kotze, director of Enable personnel agency, said he grabbed a coffee mug and tried to stop one of the robbers running down Luipaards Road by throwing the mug at him.
The mug just missed the robber, who allegedly sought shelter at a sex shop in Monument Street.
Police spokesperson captain Siphiwe Ndlovu said a 7.65mm pistol magazine and a Nokia cellphone were found at the scene.
The police could not confirm whether anybody had been arrested.
- Beeld