Mamelodi Sundowns spokesman Thulani Thuswa escaped death on Friday night after he was involved in a car accident and then robbed at gunpoint at the scene of the crash.
A shaken Thuswa told Sunday World that he was lucky to escape with his life after three tsotsis pounced on him and the two metro police officers at the scene where a wild wild west gun battle ensued.
The incident happened on the Olifantsfontein onramp of the N1 south freeway when Thuswa's car was crashed into by another car.
"While the officers were taking our statements, three armed men appeared from nowhere and ordered all of us, including tow truck drivers and emergency medical people to lie down on the ground.
"They took our cellphones and wallets and emptied them before handing them back to us. I was so confused by the whole thing I did not even lie on the ground as instructed. I even asked one of them to give me back my SIM card as I did not want to lose my contacts and he opened the phone and gave it back to me.
"After disarming the male officer, his female colleague ran into one of the ambulances and we did not know where she was. We thought the thugs took her with them when they fled," said Thuswa.
He said another metro cop car arrived with three officers, two of whom were female.
"The officer who was disarmed then took a gun from one of the new crew and started chasing after the thugs. They fired back and more cop cars and a helicopter arrived. It was a dramatic scene. One of the tow truckers was shot and fell and later taken to hospital," he said.
Joburg metro police spokesman Wayne Minnaar confirmed the incident but denied that their officer was disarmed.
"The officer you are talking about did not have a gun on him. The suspects were armed and the gun battle happened when back-up arrived. Three suspects are at large and investigations are continuing," said Minnaar.
Source: sundayworld.
