Botched heist causes mayhem

2010-08-31 20:10

Johannesburg - An aborted cash-in-transit heist was the cause of an accident on the R554, in Germiston, on Tuesday morning, Gauteng police said.

An armoured vehicle was being driven from Alberton to Van Dyk Park when the driver noticed that he was being followed by three suspicious vehicles, said police spokesperson Precious Zikhayi.

He skipped a red robot in an attempt to evade them, but was crossing a bridge when a fourth car, a Mercedez-Benz, rammed into the armoured vehicle.

It was forced into oncoming traffic where it struck another vehicle.

"(The armoured car) stopped, with the four vehicles behind him. About 15 guys with guns got out of the vehicles. They fired shots into the air," said Zikhayi.

"After firing some shots, they got back into their cars."

The men, wearing balaclavas, fled in three of the cars, leaving behind the Mercedez-Benz.

They stole nothing.

Why not ?

"There's a question of why they didn't take money," said Zikhayi.

She said the armoured car's guards fled after the vehicle stopped, leaving the money unguarded.

The Mercedez-Benz used in the attempted heist had been reported stolen in Randfontein.

The driver of the vehicle which was hit by the armoured car, a woman, was severely injured.

Netcare spokesperson Jeffrey Wicks said she was "fighting for her life".

Wicks said four of the guards also suffered minor and moderate injuries.

- SAPA