Innocent motorists were left severely injured and one tragically dead after a dramatic police chase on William Nicol Drive ended in a shootout between suspects and police on 21 July.
South African Police Services spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Tsekiso Mofokeng said, “The police were looking for a specific car based on information that was given to them. When the police spotted this car with the suspects [on 21 July], they began to follow the car. The suspects within the car then realised that they were being followed and picked up their speed.”
It was at this point that an ordinary police chase was transformed into a bloody scene.
Mofokeng continued, “The suspects then collided with two cars and a motorbike. Three innocent people were injured as a result. The suspects’ car flipped over and three of the suspects then got out of the car and started shooting at the police. The police retaliated and returned fire.”
According to Mofokeng, two of the suspects were arrested and are currently receiving treatment under police guard in hospital. One of the suspects was able to flee the scene on foot and has still not been found.
“There was a total of four suspects and one of them died on the scene of the incident. One of the three innocent people that were injured died as well,” he added.
Ward 102 councillor, David Potter said, “According to a community group chat, the man who died was on his motorbike during the collision and his name was Steve Brent.”
A 29-year-old Sandton-based mother of two, Steph Acar, saw what looked like a body flying through the air on Republic Road. It turns out that what she was witnessing was the fatal accident that took the life of Brent. She did not hear any gunshots and, therefore, believed that the motorbike had been in a collision.
“I was driving out of the salon in the William Nicol Pick n Pay when I saw a terrible incident on Republic Road. I initially thought there was a body being flung across the road, but it turns out that it was a motorbike,” explained Acar.
Acar sped to the scene of the accident to offer her assistance as she has received first aid training. “The man’s head had already been covered in a towel and I grabbed my first aid kit and tried to bandage his face. He had severe head injuries and there was so much blood. His bottom lip had been split in half and there was blood coming from everywhere. He was not responsive at all.”
Acar said that he was making growling noises and one of his eyes was swollen shut. “When the paramedics arrived, they asked him to open his left eye, but he could not. I hope he did not feel too much pain.”
She stayed with him until the paramedics had transferred him onto a board. She concluded, “Let us not focus on the criminals in this story, but the innocent man who lost his life.”
