An 18-year-old man appeared in the Louis Trichardt Magistrate Court on Monday in connection with the wild police chase through town last Friday, which ended in an accident.
During lunchtime last Friday, what looked like an ordinary car accident in Erasmus Street between Grobler and President Street caused a lot of spectator value.
It turned out that one of the vehicles involved in the crash, a Corsa bakkie, had allegedly been stolen in front of Capitec Bank in Krogh Street just moments before, according to bystanders. The "thieves", however, caught the attention of the police and a wild vehicle chase ensued. Members of the public joined the chase.
With screeching tyres, the occupants of the bakkie tried to outrun the police, driving at high speed down Songozwi Street. The chase ended almost as soon as it started, with the stolen vehicle allegedly hitting another vehicle and coming to a stop. The police were right on the suspects' tails and managed to arrest one of them at the scene, while a second suspect apparently managed to get away.
The suspect in the case, Wisani Caswell Khosa, appeared in court on Monday, strangely enough not on a charge of vehicle theft but on a charge of negligent driving only. His case was postponed until 14 November for further police investigation.