By Kaya 959 News
Talk about shooting your shot. A homeless man was arrested after he stole a brand new vehicle from a KwaZulu-Natal car dealership only to crash it minutes later.
According to Pietermaritzburg spokesperson, Sergeant Mthokozisi Ngobese, the 29-year-old man had been loitering around the car dealership. Due to his dress, it is assumed that he is a local vagrant.
Ngobese said new vehicles had just been offloaded and one of the vehicles was dirty and one of the vehicles was left aside. The vehicle was going to be driven to the washing bay to be cleaned before being parked with the others.
Realising that no one was watching and the keys were still in the vehicle’s ignition, the man got into the car and sped off.
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A spokesperson from a local private security company, Mi7, said one of their officers was patrolling near the dealership at the time and was flagged down by a dealership employee.
“The employee told our security officials that a vehicle had moments before allegedly been stolen from their premises. Our officials immediately circulated an alert on various communication channels with a description of the vehicle,” the spokesperson said.
Crash victims sustain minor injuries
Along with multiple units from the South African Police Service, a full search of the area was immediately carried out.
“Moments later, our security officials received a call stating that a vehicle matching the description was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Greyling Street outside Parklane Centre,” the spokesperson said.
Mi7 National Group’s Strategic Threat Response Unit, K9 Unit and Emergency Medical Services hurried to the scene of the accident. It is believed that the suspect driving the stolen vehicle had collided into three other vehicles before coming to a stop.
The suspect was detained by traffic officers, with the assistance of security officials from Mi7 and Amlec.
Two people travelling in vehicles involved in the crash had sustained minor injuries and were transported by Mi7 medics to hospital for further treatment. The suspect, however, did not sustain any injuries and was handed over to the custody of police officers.
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The man has been arrested and charged for theft. He is due in court on Monday.
Meanwhile, a Mi7 officer found himself in a swimming pool while checking out a property.
Nelson Gwala was responding to a call, triggered by a property alarm when – as a result of bad lighting – mistook a swimming pool for a patch of grass.
He managed to get out of the water, unharmed.
